Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper | Review

Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

Published: September 23, 2014

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers

Received: originally received via Netgalley, but finally borrowed audio from library

Narrator: Lauren Fortgang

You don't know what you must give up to become a witch.

Avery Roe wants only to claim her birthright as the witch of Prince Island and to make the charms that have kept the island's sailors safe at sea for generations, but instead she is held prisoner by her mother in a magic-free life of proper manners and respectability.

Avery thinks escape is just a matter of time, but when she has a harrowing nightmare, she can see what it means: She will be killed. She will be murdered. And she's never been wrong before.

Desperate to change her future, Avery finds a surprising ally in Tane—a tattooed harpoon boy with magic of his own, who moves her in ways she never expected. But as time runs out to unlock her magic and save herself, Avery discovers that becoming a witch requires unimaginable sacrifice.

Avery walks the knife's edge between choice and destiny in Kendall Kulper's sweeping debut: the story of one girl's fight to survive the rising storm of first love and family secrets.

When I first heard about it , I nabbed it from NetGalley, but then somehow it got pushed aside for new pretties and so on. But after having read it, I quite enjoyed it, even with it's slow parts.

Avery Roe is born to a family of witches, but she can't become the witch without some sacrifice. She truly wants to become the witch with all her being and just adored living with her grandmother by the sea and learning all about her ancestry. Until the day her mother returned and pulled her away from the only life she knew all in the name of "protecting" her from becoming the Roe Witch. Everything has a price, but Avery just doesn't know what becoming the witch will cost her.

She is so determined to become the witch and take over for her grandmother, that she tries over and over to leave her mother's home and keeps meeting magical block after magical block. Until she meets the tattooed boy, Tane. That's when everything changes.

The story is quite slowly paced for most of the book with a slow and awkward romance. At times this was frustrating because I just wanted to know what would happen, but overall I really enjoyed the fact that the story took a little bit of time to unravel. The romance didn't really seem like it was going to happen at first, they were awkward and did talk too much at first, but once she started trusting Tane and needing his help, I could see how easy it would be to fall in love with him.

I loved the different types magic described in the book and the setting of being on the island and tied to the land, the sea and it's people via this magic. I think I kind of figured out how the witch would get her magic, but I didn't truly see exactly what would need to happen before it got quite close to the time. Oops. 

The writing gave me moments where I could vividly picture the little cabin on the end of the islands, surrounded by rocks with waves crashing. I could picture the whales and whaling boats heading out to sea. I could picture the little village and the people of the island. I adored the setting of this book so much.

Perhaps because I listened to the audiobook in lieu of reading the eARC I still had access to, that it made a difference. I noticed mixed reviews online for this book, but I wonder if hearing the story out loud was more magical than just reading the words from paper?

If you are looking for a book with magic, romance and an island setting - this just might be for you.

About the Author:

Find Kendall Kulper online - Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Unhauling! Letting go...

UNHAULING MY BOOKS

I'll admit it... I love the look of so many books piled on my bookshelf. BUT... I think it's time I cull a ton. It makes me sad, but at the same time it's overwhelming to have so many on my shelf that are unread or that I don't plan to reread - ever. So I've decided to just cull them all. I'll be slowly donating books to the Little Free Library near my mother in law's house and maybe even boxing some up to donate to the library book sale.

So many books that I wanted to read at the time, but either don't feel the same about anymore or don't think I'll ever get to. And I think I only want to keep those that I loved, want to reread or will for sure get to in the next 2 years. That seems like a good time frame. Even review books that I was once interested in, but now so much time has passed that I'm just not feeling them - best to pass along to someone who will enjoy them!

Netgalley - cull out ones I'll never get to - DNF the ones I'm no longer interested in. And stop requesting so many books on there. Only a few at a time... I can eventually get books from the library if I'm still interested in the titles.

Have you ever done this? Did you feel guilty for culling unread books or did you feel relief? I'm hoping it helps me deal with my blogger shame of having so many older review books that I just never got to.

EDIT: I didn't know that unhauling was a thing, but I do it often. Who knew? I'm new to watching BookTube and love BooksandLala and that's where I learned about unhauling books. 

UPDATE: I unhauled 46 books from my shelves. I still need to do the ebooks, but I'm not in such a hurry for those as they are not taking up physical space.

Covet by Tracey Garvis-Graves | Review

Covet by Tracey Garvis-Graves 

Published: September 17, 2013

Publisher: Dutton Adult

Pages: 336

Received: from Netgalley for review (I'm playing catchup on my review books)

Find Online: Goodreads | Amazon

What if the life you wanted, and the woman you fell in love with, belonged to someone else?

Chris and Claire Canton’s marriage is on life support. Downsized during the recession and out of work for a year, Chris copes by retreating to a dark place where no one can reach him, not even Claire. When he’s offered a position that will keep him away from home four nights a week, he dismisses Claire’s concern that time apart could be the one thing their fragile union can’t weather. Their suburban life may look idyllic on the outside, but Claire has never felt so disconnected from Chris, or so lonely.

Local police officer Daniel Rush used to have it all, but now he goes home to an empty house every night. He pulls Claire over during a routine traffic stop, and they run into each other again at the 4th of July parade. When Claire is hired to do some graphic design work for the police department, her friendship with Daniel grows, and soon they’re spending hours together.

Claire loves the way Daniel makes her feel, and the way his face lights up when she walks into the room. Daniel knows that Claire’s marital status means their relationship will never be anything other than platonic. But it doesn’t take long before Claire and Daniel are in way over their heads, and skating close to the line that Claire has sworn she’ll never cross.

Look at the gorgeous cover for this book. It's just stunning in real life too (I picked up a copy when I realized I still hadn't read my review copy via Netgalley). 

I loved Tracy Garvis-Graves debut, On The Island, and just knew that I would enjoy reading more from her. She did not disappoint. Her writing is beautiful and poignant.  

I've never been in a situation like Claire, but did I ever empathize with her. As her story unfolds, I found myself getting emotionally sucked into the book and both feeling sorry for Claire and being angry with her for letting herself get into this situation. I could see how easy it would be to let the attention and affections of another man make you feel special again if you were feeling ignored or forgotten by your current beau/husband, but I was angry with her for letting herself think that being "just friends" would work with a man she was obviously attracted to. I was both rooting for Claire and yelling at her throughout the story. Ms. Garvis-Graves writes this emotionally charged story in a way that you can't help but feel for Claire and want the best for her whatever the ends up being.

And you also simultaneously root for both Daniel and Chris. Daniel because he seems to be the kinda of man that Claire needs in her life and Chris because he deserves the chance to show her that he's still here and loves her. What a love triangle! The backstories unfold throughout the chapters and you learn more about the three as time goes on. I loved Daniel and Claire together, but they really just seemed to experience the best of each other and not facing any real stressful or challenging times during the story (until near the end of the book). And it felt like all Chris and Claire had at the moment was this big, ugly situation that wasn't getting any better. Both relationships were heartbreaking in their own way. I did not envy Claire and the choice she had to make.

There were also some really interesting supporting characters namely Claire's friends who each had issues of their own going on including alcoholism, gambling and infertility. It touched on many different issues, but left Claire's story of loneliness be the star topic.

I'm looking forward to more by this author and I think she has now become and auto-buy for me.

About the Author:
Tracey Garvis Graves is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. Her debut novel, On the Island, spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into twenty-nine languages, and is in development with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film. She is also the author of Uncharted, Covet, Every Time I Think of You, and Cherish. She is hard at work on her sixth book. -source

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Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury | Review @KarenKingsbury

Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury

Publisher: Howard Books

Published: October 29, 2013

Pages: 353

Received: originally via Netgalley but listened to audio via library

Find Online: Goodreads | Amazon

Overnight, Zack is the nation’s most popular contestant, a country singer with the looks and voice of a young Elvis. As his star rises, Zack is asked to compromise and quiet his beliefs, and also something more. Just as America is falling in love with Zack, just as he’s on the verge of winning it all, his choices lead him to the brink of personal disaster.

At the same time, Reese Weatherly, a therapeutic horse instructor, is no longer sure about her relationship with Zack, or the wedding they had dreamed about. While Zack advances from one round of the competition to the next, an offer comes to Reese--one that will take her to a home halfway around the world.

Then Chandra Olson--reigning diva pop star and one of the Fifteen Minutes judges--intervenes. Chandra has suffered so much public pain and private agony since her days as a Fifteen Minutes contestant. Now she wants just one thing: meaning.

Can Chandra's private losses help Zack find his way, or will his fifteen minutes of fame cause him to lose the life he once loved? Fifteen Minutes is a story of character, compromise, and the cost of having it all. A story that raises the question: Who are the real winners?

This is one of my Blogger Shame books for this year. You know the ones you are to review, but somehow never made the time for it. Hence why it was an audiobook listen now.

Honestly, I wish I had taken the time to read this back when it was releasing. It's a great heart warming story. It is a Christian fiction book so be aware that there is much talk to God and Jesus, but it's more about finding yourself, making amends and understanding your path in life. So don't let the faith talk throw you off this one. I'll probably pick up more of Karen Kingsbury's audiobooks from the library as I enjoyed the writing style.

Zack's motives for trying out for the reality show Fifteen Minutes are commendable - to save his family's horse farm and to help his little sister get better medial care, but everyone is worried that the possibility of fame would change him. He's determined that his faith will guide him and he would use this opportunity to spread the word of his faith. You root for Zack to stay true to himself even given the different things thrown his way. Sadly, he starts to let the fame get to his head, he begins enjoying the rush and forgetting who he is and what his mission was in the first place.

Chandra, one of the judges, is determined to help guide a contestant or two in the right direction because she is all too familiar with what fame can take away from you. It's her goal to help someone or to guide them to leave the show so it doesn't ruin them. I love her motives and I love that she doesn't just help a contestant, but she helps others along the way and finally finds meaning in her shattered life.

I loved that the Fifteen Minutes reality show is similar to an American Idol style show and you feel the excitement for the contestants while they are singing for the judges. You get the chance to have a behind the scenes look at their hectic lives and you get a viewpoint of the judges.

Also, the last POV in the book is from Zack's girlfriend, Reese, who wants to support him and pray for him to make it through (with his faith intact), but she's terrified that he will change and become someone she doesn't recognize.
I think Chandra is the saving grace in this story. A little guardian angel sent to help Zack before it's completely too late. And she is by far my favourite character in this story.
Go check it out - it's worth the read!

About the Author:
Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. In addition, it was recently announced that Roma Downey and MGM Studios are developing a TV series out of Karen's popular Baxter Family books. Karen is also a visiting professor at Liberty University. -source

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