Book Review: The Summer Sail By: Wendy Francis

 "A sail away to a tropical island. Yes, it was just the thing she needed.

She hoped her roommates would say yes" 

Book Title: The Summer Sail
Author: Wendy Francis
Paperback
Amount of Pages: 294 
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Publisher: Atria Books
From: Publisher 
I was not paid for this review 

Summary (From the back of the book): 

Three best friends reunite for a summer vacation they will never forget - but not for the reasons they expect. 

When Abby decides to renew her wedding vows for her twentieth anniversary on a cruise to Bermuda, she invites her best friends and former college roommates, Caroline and Lee to join her. As the ship pulls away from the pier, everyone is looking forward to an idyllic week of lounging by the pool, sipping cocktails, and reminiscing. 

If only it were that easy...

Caroline, a magazine editor, wonders when and if her longtime boyfriend, Javier, will propose. If he doesn't get his act together on the cruise, she may just leave him. Lee, a single mom, desperately wants to win back the affections of her daughter, Lacey, who has returned home from her freshman year of college as a bit of a monster. And happily married hosts Abby and Sam are hiding a major secret from everyone, including their twin sons, Chris and Ryan. 

As tensions flare and the fairy-tale ceremony threatens to unravel, three women will discover if their bond of friendship can sustain them in life's uncharted waters. 

Wdebo's Review: Sometimes you just need one of those summer reads especially now when the season is quickly changing from Fall to Winter. This novel was light, fast and fun - a great book to bring to the beach and just laze around and flip through the pages. Though there were some hiccups during the story, it was definitely a nice and quick read. 

I was thoroughly impressed by the friendships that were presented in the stories. The bond the roommates shared that had spanned for many decades is truly enviable. It made me wish that I have those sorts of strong relationships when I get older as well. 

While the relationships between the characters were great I found certain characterizations to be lacking. Some of the characters were written in a more stereotypical light especially in terms of the children. It definitely was written from the point of view of an older person who is trying to act younger without much conviction so it turned pretty cringey at times in terms of tone and mannerisms. Additionally, each roommates story was wrapped up too perfectly. Everything seemed to fall into place a bit too well and was slightly too idealistic for me. 

However, I do have to commend the fact that the story was written about three best friends who are all in different stages of life and relationships. It's rare to see that celebrated all at once but it is important since not all of us are in the same stages of life even if we are the same age and that is totally fine. 

Cafe Cover Chat: I find the cover to be cute - definitely makes you want to be on a sunny cruise. (B) 

All in all, a fun and quick little read - perfect to bring as a beachside companion. 

Grade: B

Wdebo :) 

Book Review: The Lost History of Dreams By: Kris Waldherr

 "'In speaking of love, we speak of intangible things. Like ghosts.' Her tone turned uneasy. 'Thus, that which we love haunts us with possibilites, with denied yearnings like a ghost. The closer we approach, the more they elude.'" 

Book Title: The Lost History of Dreams 

Author: Kris Waldherr 

HARDBACK

Amount: 320 

Release Date: April 9, 2019 

From: Publisher

I was not paid for this review 

Summary (From the Back of the Book): When famed Byronesque poet Hugh de Bonne is found dead in his bath one morning, the task of burying his body falls on his estranged cousin, historian turned post-mortem photographer Robert Highstead. The chapel stipulated in De Bonne's will, a stained-glass folly set on the Shropshire moors, was built over a decade earlier to house the remains of his beloved wife and muse, Ada, and has since remained closed to all outsiders-especially the rabid, cultlike fans of De Bonne's last book, The Lost History of Dreams. 

Only Ada's grief-stricken niece, Isabelle, holds the key-but she refuses to unlock the glass chapel unless Robert agrees to her bargain: before he can lay Hugh to rest, Robert must record the real story behind her aunt's ill-fated marriage over the course of five nights.

Sweeping and darkly atmospheric, The Lost History of Dreams is a Gothic mystery about love and loss that blurs the line between past and present, truth and fiction, and ultimately, life and death. 

Wdebo's Review: This book has been sitting on my shelf for the past year and I was unfortunately only able to get to it now just due to how my last year of grad school was going. When I finally picked it up I found that it definitely took a bit to get into the story. The details of everyone's stories just got quickly thrown in without much background to help pillow it. However, as the story went on more and more ends started to get tied up and was much easier to follow. However, I felt that even though the ending explained a lot of the mystery surrounding certain people it was just not as satisfying as I was hoping for because it felt so rushed. 

For example, Robert's ability to daguerreotype the dead was randomly brought in to show how he was able to bring his dead wife to life but the past of that was never really expanded on. It just seemed like a big topic that was randomly brought out and ignored. I really wish the amount of details and fluff would have been cut down to allow the true important points to develop properly. 

Out of all of the stories that were told I did love Ada and Hugh's the most. Something about it just drew me in more so than all of the other ones. I think it might be the fact it was told in a deliberate story telling aspect that truly made it more enjoyable the other ones. I do have to also note the fact she was able to blend different story telling voices into one was very impressive. 

Cafe Cover Chat: Pretty average cover that is not enticing (C) 

All in all, although this was not the most exciting nor polished story there were some admirable qualities and moments that shined through. 

Grade: C+

Wdebo :) 

Book Review: Bunny By: Mona Awad

 "Kira pats my back, the handle of the bloodied ax still in her little fist.
'Welcome to Workshop, Bunny'" 

Book Title: Bunny
Author: Mona Awad
PAPERBACK
Amount of Pages: 305
Release Date: June 11, 2019
From: Bookstore

Summary (From the back of the book): A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, Samantha Heather Mackey is utterly repelled by the rest of her graduate fiction writing cohort at New England's elite Warren University: a clique of unbearably saccharine yet sinister rich girls who call each other "Bunny" and seem to move and speak as one. 

But everything changes when Samatha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon" and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door - ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samatha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' world and begins to take part in their monstrous experiments, the edges of realities begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the bunnies will be brought into deadly collision. 

Wdebo's Review: After seeing so much praise for the book and receiving a glowing recommendation from the girl behind the counter who rung up my book, I was very excited to start it. However, maybe it was because of the heavy buildup I was given but although I enjoyed it, I don't think I did to the degree I was promised.   

The whole book was pretty much like some sort of weird fever dream. It starts out slow and slightly pretentious with its unnecessarily flowery and sometimes difficult to follow speech. Suddenly it bops you on the forehead with its introduction of the Bunnies' activities and starts jerking you back and forth with wild fantasies and situations. I do have to state that the conclusion was not something I saw coming. I appreciated it because that does not happen to me often. It was still enjoyable even though I shut the book thinking "what the fuck just happened?"

The characters themselves were not too memorable, all slight caricatures of themselves. But maybe that's the point? A satire of these stock characters we consistency see within literature. The throng of mean girls who are so unattainable it is presented in a supernatural light. An awkward, bumbling and at times antisocial protagonist who brings to light all of the insecurities inside of ourselves. And finally a dark, brooding girl who acts distant but is essentially very needy. Samatha herself is not the most likable protagonist but the journey she takes us through was, in a word, fascinating. 

Cafe Cover Chit Chat: I like the simplicity of the cover and its contrasting colors. Also a fan of the font - it's soft and sharp all at once. (B+) 

All in all, an at times confusing but others deliciously fun read. Don't go into it with any expectations but just enjoy the ride it ends up taking you on. 

Grade: B+

Wdebo :) 

Book Review: 100 Days of Cake By: Shari Goldhagen

"No idea where I'm going, but I pedal so fast to get there that it hurts"

(139) 

Book Title: 100 Days of Cake
Author: Shari Goldhagen
HARDBACK
Amount of Pages: 339
Publisher: Atheneum Books For Young Readers
Release Date: May 17, 2016
Geared Towards: Teens
From: Library




Summary (From Front Flap): Every other senior at Coral Cove High School might be mapping out every facet of their future, but Molly Bryne just wants to spend the rest of the summer (maybe the rest of her life) watching Golden Girls reruns hanging out with her cute coworker at FishTopia. Some days, the are the only things that get her out of bed.

You see, for the past year, Molly's been struggling with depression, above and beyond industry-standard teen angst. Crushing on her therapist isn't helping, and neither is her mom, who is convinced that baking the perfect cake will cure her-as if icing alone can magically make her rejoin the swim team or care about the SATs. Ummm, no, not going to happen.

But when Molly finds out FishTopia is turning into a lame country diner, her already crummy life starts to fall even more out of her control, and soon she has to figure out what-if anything-is worth fighting for. 

Wdebo's Review: I do have to admit that I mainly only started to read this book because of the cover. It's so pretty and eye-catching. However, the book just did not reach the same caliber that the cover had presented which left me feeling very disappointed.

I was interested in seeing how the book would tackle such a heavy topic such as depression. The novel did show some of the highs and lows of the disease but I just could not connect with the protagonist at all which I really wanted to especially given the topic. However, there was something so hard for me to like about her and other characters. As for Molly's best friend, Elle, she was just not a likable character either. She was basically a walking tree-hugging, vegan stereotype. Additionally, for someone who identified as a feminist she was always slut shamming Molly's sister, V. Going as far as saying that her dress warrants her with STDs and how she is everything wrong with America. She does get better towards the end of the novel, but still not a character I particularly cared for. As for Alex, he was painted as a true swoon-worthy love interest, from the constant longing to the sensitive, beautiful musician. Though he wasn't a bad character, it just felt very trite. I did however like the character of Molly's mom she is trying whatever she can to try and help her daughter which includes baking 100 cakes in 100 days.

I thought the concept of the 100 cakes was very interesting. It did make the book much better and I liked seeing how the book progressed as the different days with the different cakes as their chapter headings. However, for the writing, I was not satisfied with how events would suddenly occur but not really have a buildup, except for the thing with Dr. B which was one of the few moments that made me feel for Molly. The writing itself wasn't too intriguing in the beginning but towards the last 50 or so pages, a lot of events occurred and that was when my interest was piqued for the story. Additionally, I really have to complain about the amount of pop culture references added into it. I'm not sure if the author did so to try and appeal to a younger audience since she started out as an adult novel writer or if she wanted to make it seem more grounded in the present, but it just really did not work and made it seem like it was trying to hard.

Cafe Cover Chit Chat: As stated above, I really like this cover. The cake is so eye-catching compared to the background and the whole color and font scheme of the over is lovely (A) 

All in all, definitely not a book I particularly liked reading. Though there were a few good moments in the story, it took me so much longer to finish than it should have.

Grade: C+

Wdebo :)

Book Review: A Week of Mondays By: Jessica Brody

"Because when you find what you're looking for-when you finally get it right-everything else is just noise" 

(449)

Book Title: A Week of Mondays
Author: Jessica Brody
HARDBACK
Amount of Pages: 451
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: August 2, 2016
Geared Towards: Younger Teens +
From: Publisher
I was not paid for this review~



Summary (From Front Flap): Sixteen-year-old Ellison Sparks is having a serious case of the Mondays. She gets a ticket for running a red light, she manages to take the world's worst school picture, she bombs her class election speech, and, to top it off, Tristan, her gorgeous rocker boyfriend, suddenly dumps her. For no good reason!

As far as Mondays go, it doesn't get much worse than this. And Ellie is positive that if she could just do it all over again, she would get it right. So when she wakes up the next morning to find she's reliving the exact same day, she knows what she has to do: stop her boyfriend from breaking up with her. But it seems that no matter how many do-overs she gets or how hard Ellie tries to repair their relationship, Tristan is always set on ending it. Will Ellie ever figure out how to fix this broken day? Or will she be stuck in this nightmare of a Monday forever?

Wdebo's Review: Have you ever wished you could redo a day where it seems everything that could go wrong does? That's what Jessica Brody's new book delves into. I have been a fan of Jessica Brody since reading her story, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father (which this book also includes an easter egg for!) and was very excited to start this one both because of her and also the synopsis. Though it did begin slow, it was a fun book to read as you see Ellison try, fail and grow throughout the course of the novel.

I wasn't too big of a fan of  the beginning of the novel because it felt very shakily as well as slightly awkwardly written. It was trying too hard to be hip and fit in with a teenage audience (way too much Urban Dictionary references) but as the story progressed it molded itself better and became much more enjoyable. I think it also may have tied in with the characters themselves. Towards the beginning of the novel, Ellision was not a very likable character. She was so whinny and overly dramatic but she slowly got better as the story progressed. It helped to show her character growth. However, even towards the beginning when Tristan was being a "dreamboat," I just could not stand him and those feelings did not change at all throughout the story. Even when he was trying to be suave and swoonworthy he was just none of things, he just felt so bleh all the time. I also feel that **spoiler alert** falling in love with your best friend is just such a cliche path to walk down, and so I was hoping it wouldn't end up like that, but even though it did I have to admit that it was a cute ending and I couldn't help but to squeal at the end. **spoiler end** 

Though this book was a light and fluffy read, it was a fun way to pass a few hours. I do have to admit that I was impressed by the gradual changes of the weeks and just how planned the novel felt, but I wish that it went into why Ellision got stuck in the Monday cycle.

Cafe Cover Chit Chat: The cover looks cute and the polaroids give a good understanding of what the novel is about. (A-)

All in all, though the novel did not posses the strongest beginning, this book was definitely a fun way to pass a couple of hours and to get sucked into teenage drama on repeat which definitely makes for an interesting story.

Grade: B+

Wdebo :)

Singin' Saturday: We Ain't Them - Childish Gambino

Title: We Ain't Them
Artist: Childish Gambino
Language: English

Wdebo's Notes: Every time I listen to Childish it just reminds me of my last year of undergrad. One of my friends loved rap and hip hop and so that Summer was spent discovering and listening to lots of different rappers, one of them being Childish. This is one of my new favorite songs by him. I love the chill flow as well as the life story narrative.

Listen and Love!

Wdebo :)

Book Review: Glass Sword By: Victoria Aveyard

"If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter"

Book Title: Glass Sword
Author: Victoria Aveyard
HARDBACK
Amount of Pages: 444
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Geared Towards: Older Teens
From: Library
Extra Info: Book #2 in the Red Queen series. Sequel to Red Queen.



Summary (From Front Flap): Mare Barrow's blood is red-the color of common folk-but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince-the friend-who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: She is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, all risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

Wdebo's Review: As someone who read Red Queen at an insanely rapid pace, I could not wait to pick up Glass Sword and see what happens to Mare and her fellow newbloods. Though the book did start out slowly and was hard to hold my attention, as soon as the action picked up so did my interest and I could not put it down until the last page.

Once again, I am greatly impressed by Victoria Aveyard's ability to spin the intriguing world of Red and Silver bloods. The plot is well wrapped with various twists and turns that made the story very immersive and intriguing. It definitely did not follow a linear pathway as I thought it would. There were so many dips and surprises until it reached the end and I honestly cannot wait for the next installment of the story! However, I do have to admit I do agree with the issue that was brought up in the book of how Mare is only paying attention to the Newbloods in training them and keeping them safe but not paying attention to the commoners. It feels like there are lots of deeper issues that can be brought out to light in the story and dug deeper into but I guess since there is so much going on in the novel that didn't happen and is a shame because that could have helped make the book a lot stronger.

Once again, as with Red Queen, I was not really invested in any of the characters but I do enjoy reading about them. However, something that I appreciate about Victoria Aveyard's writing is her ability to know when to use and when to let go of characters. But I really did wish that she can make the relationships between various characters stronger and leave a deeper impression for me, it would help me become more deeply involved in the story. However, apart from that issue, I do have to admit that I greatly enjoyed this sequel and it was a great addition to the series!

Cafe Cover Chit Chat: I am starting the get used to the blue background, but I really do love the crown and how the blood colors stand out so much (A-) 

All in all, a wonderful addition to the series! Fans of Red Queen should start reading Glass Sword right now!

Grade: A-

Wdebo :)