Book Review- Walk on Earth a Stranger

I finished Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson last week for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety?

Walk on Earth a Stranger, the first book in this new trilogy, introduces—as only Rae Carson can—a strong heroine, a perilous road, a fantastical twist, and a slow-burning romance. Includes a map and author’s note on historical research.

I don't really do historical books.  They tend to bore me.  So I almost passed this one up.  Luckily the owner of the blog tours I participated in told me I needed to read it, and I'm so glad she did!

Reading this book was like reading about the real life Oregon Trail game (which I loved when I was in elementary school!).  Seriously--illness, and hunger, and oxen, and covered wagons!  Life back then was so hard and reading about the trials of going across the country for the gold rush really interested me.  

I know that Leah had a secret power of being able to sense gold but I don't feel like it was a huge part of the story.  I mean, it was a huge part in the reason she was going across country in the first place, but I don't feel like her power was a major force in the book.

I really enjoyed all of the characters.  I loved how strong Leah was yet she still had a bit of girly-ness to her.  And all of the side characters on her journey kept me interested as well.

I'm glad to see that this is going to be a trilogy.  I'll definitely be picking up the next one.  Now excuse me while I go play Oregon Trail.

I gave this book a rating of 4.5/5.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

In My Mailbox- September 14, 2015

In My Mailbox: Here's what I got in my mailbox last week:

MONDAY

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter- Jana Oliver--PaperbackSwap

In My Mailbox- September 7, 2015

In My Mailbox: Here's what I got in my mailbox last week:

MONDAY

Promises I Made (Lies I Told #2)- Michelle Zink--review for an Around the World ARC Tour











TUESDAY

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart- Jenn Bennett--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy #1)- Rae Carson--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

WEDNESDAY

The Boy Most Likely To (My Life Next Door #2)- Huntley Fitzpatrick--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

The Sunday Salon- September 6, 2015

The Sunday Salon

I finished and reviewed the following books last week:

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

For the Record by Charlotte Huang  












I am currently reading Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson and up next, if I don't get a tour book, is The Legacy of Us by Kristin Contino.

Book Review- For the Record

I finished reading For the Record by Charlotte Huang a few nights ago for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Chelsea thought she knew what being a rock star was like . . . until she became one. After losing a TV talent show, she slid back into small-town anonymity. But one phone call changed everything

Now she’s the lead singer of the band Melbourne, performing in sold-out clubs every night and living on a bus with three gorgeous and talented guys. The bummer is that the band barely tolerates her. And when teen hearthrob Lucas Rivers take an interest in her, Chelsea is suddenly famous, bringing Melbourne to the next level—not that they’re happy about that. Her feelings for Beckett, Melbourne’s bassist, are making life even more complicated.

Chelsea only has the summer tour to make the band—and their fans—love her. If she doesn’t, she’ll be back in Michigan for senior year, dying a slow death. The paparazzi, the haters, the grueling schedule . . . Chelsea believed she could handle it. But what if she can’t?

I've always loved stories about characters that are famous but I think a rock star is a new one for me.

I really liked Chelsea.  I thought that she stayed true to herself for the most part.  Even the dating of the movie star--I mean what teenager who is suddenly in the limelight would turn down their heartthrob??

And I felt so bad for the drama she had in her past.  How horrible!  And what she went through with her best friend towards the end of the story.  I knew her pain but I could never be that forgiving.

This was a light, fun look into a rock star's world.  And I sure wouldn't hate it if there was ever going to be a sequel!

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

For the Record will be released on November 10. 2015.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- The Rest of Us Just Live Here

I finished reading The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness for an Around the World ARC Tour yesterday.

From Goodreads:

What if you aren’t the Chosen One?

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshiped by mountain lions.

Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.

This book felt like it was trying to be both a contemporary novel and a strange sci/fi novel combined.  And it didn't work.  The author should have just stuck with contemporary and left well enough alone.

The main story was about a group of friends graduating from high school.  They all have their own little traumas and issues.  And reading about how they worked through those would have been good enough.

But then there's this sci-fi part thrown in that makes absolutely no sense.  Something about Immortals and indie kids and glowing blue lights.  We're given a paragraph at the beginning of each chapter and then some random things that happen throughout the story.  It just didn't really work.

I liked Mikey and Henna and Mel and Jared and reading about their struggles.  But every time I read a brief snippet of the weird sci-fi thing the author lost me all over again.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here will be released on October 6, 2015.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.