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

Riding her bicycle at a speed no proper young woman would attempt, letting her hair fly free, conversing with statues of long-dead heroines—these are all par for the course for Viola Doyle, much to her mother's chagrin.

Keeping her newfound magical pin safe from those who would use it to unsavory ends and dealing with a handsome young historian takes quite a bit more effort.

And then, of course, there is the dragon...

To save herself and those she loves, it is up to Viola to become her own heroine, or suffer a terrible fate...

Thank you to Curiosity Quills for providing me a copy to review in my honest opinion. 

Viola Doyle or an Unconventional Gift was an easy, cute read. This is a book I would have loved as a young teenager, what with rebellious girls, magical objects, dragons, and a geeky love interest.

Viola, the main character, is strong and stubborn in her beliefs (as any young lady should be) and refuses to conform to the stuffy behaviors that society demands of her. I really liked Viola, and I think she sets a good example for young readers.

The romantic interest in this book is sweet and innocent even if it is predictable. What I liked about it was that Viola, while her feelings for Mikhail grow stronger every time she sees him, won't compromise who she is or what she believes to be right for this new love.

I say the romance was predictable, but the truth is, a lot about this book was predictable. I knew who the villain was the moment he was introduced, who the love interest would be, and ultimately how things would play out. I don't mind predictability, but I would say that this aspect of the novel is what reminds me of something I would have read when I was a preteen. 

Probably the only bit that bothered me about this book was the way the climax played out. It happened very quickly and felt rushed. Not only that, but I had a hard time believing all that craziness would play out so smoothly. This is the only part of the novel where I had a problem with the predictability. 

The writing style flows and makes reading effortless. The characters are likable and well-developed. The story itself is interesting and brings you to the point that you want to dive a little deeper into the history behind the mythology. 

This is a really cute novel with a lot of history, adventure, and mystery. I can't describe it as mind-blowing or the like, but it is a nice, easy, fun read. 

3/5 Stars

Cheers!

My Baby's Library

Now that I'm a mom, I'm constantly worried about how what I'm doing now will affect my little one in the future. His development, motor skills, communication skills, and likes and dislikes. 

Every evening, I make it a point to read to Sully. Sometimes one story, but if he's really focused, I'll read as many as three. He's only three months old, but he loves it! He looks at the pictures and responds to my voice, and sometimes he feels the need to "tell" me his own story. It's really one of the only times of the day in which he'll sit still (unless he's sleeping, of course).

I'm pretty excited that he loves it, because I want to raise a reader. I want him to learn to use his imagination and discover new worlds and enjoy getting lost in a good book as much as I do. 

I'm adding to his library a little at a time, and here's a list of wonderful children's books that I remember as a kid, and hope to add soon!

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Harry Potter (The entire series - he's a little young yet, but he'll get there!) by J.K. Rowling

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka

The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

What children's books do you remember growing up?

Cheers!!

Musing Monday

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musing:

Right now I'm reading The Hangman's Daughter. It's going rather slowly. First, I was in a car accident and was the only one in the vehicle to achieve a concussion (go me!), so I haven't been able to read much :( (or post anything, as you can tell). And second, the book is... well, it's a little dry. 

I enjoy the historical and completely human aspect of this book - how people would go into hysteria over things that they couldn't explain or solve. Science and forensics weren't exactly top of their game back then, so people had to find a way to channel their fear. "Let's just blame the easiest target, call her witch, burn her, and be done with it! Case closed!"

It seems pretty ridiculous to us today, but in a time when science was basically considered blasphemous to most, witchcraft and associations with the devil were more logical.

So while it's interesting to see things from a totally different perspective and a different time, what bothers me about this book is the lack of emotion. It's completely dry. Children are dying or in danger; a seemingly innocent women is being called to the stake; a hangman deals with the baggage that comes with torturing and taking lives. This is all pretty heavy stuff, but while I understand that, I can't feel any of it. The author doesn't portray these emotions in a way that touches the reader. It's explained and described, but I don't feel the passion, pain, or fear behind the words. 

I'm having a hard time getting into this book. The concept and the story itself is awesome - but without feeling what the characters are feeling, I can compare this experience to reading a history textbook so far. You can gather the information, but you can't relate to how people felt at the time. 

What are your literary musings today?

Cheers!!

 

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves - hosted by Tynga's Reviews - allows  us to share the books that we've added to our shelves (physical or virtual) the past week.

Here's my haul:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Daughter of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch

What's weighing down your shelves this week?

Cheers!!

Review: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

The cover. The synopsis. The raving reviews. All three came together and made Sweet Venom a book I had to read... and after reading...



I'm sorry, I just don't understand all the hype surrounding this book. I could barely get myself to finish it. A little after the halfway mark, I found myself skimming rather than immersing myself in the story. Not a good sign. But rather than go on an angry rant, let me bullet point it for you.

• The writing felt stilted. What should have been witty came across as weird, and what should have been serious or potentially romantic came across as cheesy. Everything about it felt forced.

• I get talking to yourself, but the consistency with which these characters speak, out loud, to themselves makes me wonder if there isn't something seriously wrong with them.

• The so-called romance was... anything but. The whole insta-love/insta-crush thing is in overkill mode. A few things bugged me, but nothing as much as the fact that Grace was willing to lie about herself in order to win the affections of Milo. That, and the guys acted completely unlike any guy in the history of men. Who immediately holds their friend's little sister's hand? What guy keeps going after a girl who has made it absolutely clear that she's not interested?

        Not any guy I've ever heard of. Just another aspect of this book that felt forced.

• I love Greek mythology, but no one in their right mind believes it truly exists. So when Grace walks up to Greer (a sister she has never met) and tells her, straight up, that she's a descendent of Medusa, what do you think the response is going to be? That's right. A door slammed in the face. And Grace has the nerve to act surprised. Common sense is seriously lacking.

• I couldn't stand Grace's character. It's one thing to have insecurities, but she takes it to a whole new level. The word "freak" got pretty redundant, and the fact that she constantly used it to describe herself (or how she thought others might describe her) was beyond annoying. 

I can appreciate how the author was trying to take a well-known Greek myth and make it her own. The concept was interesting, I just can't get on board with the way it was executed.

I saw a lot of great reviews for this book, but, for me, it left a lot to be desired.

1.5/5 Stars.

Cheers!