Books Via Ashley

Artemis by Andy Weir * I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review * Synopsis (from Goodreads) Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first. Review I always feel a little sorry for an author when their debut becomes such a runaway hit. The Martian was amazing, and I mean, MATT DAMON starred in th...

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng * I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review * Publishing date: 12 Sept 2017 Synopsis "In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned - from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. "Enter Mia Warren - an enigmatic artist and single mother - who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. "When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a C...

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen * I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review * Synposis ( from Goodreads ) "Emmett Atwater isn't just leaving Detroit; he's leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family. Forever. Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden--a planet that Babel has kept hidden--where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe. But Babel's ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won't forever compromise what it means to be human." Re...

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas Synopsis ( from Goodreads ) "Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life." Review I loved this book for two reasons: 1) I think this is a very important discussion that we need to be having r...

Empress of a Thousand Skies - Rhoda Belleza Synopsis ( from Goodreads ) "Rhee is the only surviving heir to an ancient Kalusian dynasty. Alyosha is a Wraetan who has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. Their paths collide with one brutal act of violence: Rhee is attacked, barely escaping with her life. Aly is blamed for her presumed murder. The princess and her accused killer are forced to go into hiding - even as a war between planets is waged in Rhee's name. But soon, Rhee and Aly discover that the assassination attempt is just one part of a sinister plot. Bound together by an evil that only they can stop, the two fugitives must join forces to save the galaxy." Review This was our March 2017 Book Club pick! This book received a lot of hype. I actually got the physical paperback, and the cover is gorgeous, plus there's a great map. I think the biggest thing that bugged me about this book was the blurb...

The Reader by Traci Chee Synopsis (from Goodreads) "Sefia lives her life on the run. After her father is viciously murdered, she flees to the forest with her aunt Nin, the only person left she can trust. . . . But when Nin is kidnapped, Sefia is suddenly on her own, with no way to know who’s taken Nin or where she is. Her only clue is a strange rectangular object that once belonged to her father left behind, something she comes to realize is a book." Review The main reason I picked up this book was that it got a LOT of hype. I thought it was a good book, but I'd say more for younger YA. I think if I were 12-14, I would have REALLY loved this book. The premise is interesting: In a world where reading doesn't exist, Sefia has a rare book. However, I found at times the story was a bit too  meta... stories within stories within stories, and how reading is literally magic. The pacing was quite slow. I also found the feel or tone of the story jumped around. Fi...

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo *** This is the sequel to SIX OF CROWS, so SPOILERS ahead!*** Synopsis After risking everything at the Ice Court, the gang finds themselves double-crossed out of the money they were promised and Inej held hostage. Now back on the streets of Ketterdam, they find themselves up against impossible odds... But when you can't beat the odds, you change the game. Review Six of Crows was an amazing book: an Ocean's Eleven  type heist set in a rich fantasy world with a gang of six memorable and witty characters. Like, guys, I really liked Six of Crows. And rereading it this year made me like it even more. That's why I can't emphasize enough how much Crooked Kingdom blew my mind . In Crooked Kingdom, everything I loved about Six of Crows is taken and expounded upon and blown beyond my expectations. The plot is  tense . They come up with these insane plans, things go horribly wrong, and you're wondering, "How the hell...

The Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer Time for Series Saturday ! This is one of the new features I'm going to start including on my blog, where I review a series as a whole, rather than just the individual books within it. The Lunar Chronicles is a series that I’ve been hearing about for years . I knew it was a retelling of various fairytales and for some reason, it just really didn’t catch my interest. However, the first book, " Cinder ", was on sale one day for Kindle and I bought it on the fly. It then sat in my "To Read" folder for over a year and a half. One day, I was in a book funk where none of the current books I had out from the library were really satisying the mood and feel I was angling for (I think avid book readers know what I’m talking about). As I scrolled through my "To Read" folder, I saw "Cinder" and thought, "Well, might as well see how this is." Instantly hooked. Set in a somewhat distant future...

There's a trending hashtag on Twitter among authors and literary folks called #DiversityInBooks, promoting the reading of books by authors or about characters who are from a diverse set of ethnic or racial groups (aka: not white). Personally, I love it and always have enjoyed reading about people and cultures and situations that are completely different from mine. I think that by doing so, we create better understanding among each other as human beings. Diversity should unite us, not divide us. Here are three books that I found that are not only written by minority authors with minority main characters, but actually discuss what race is and what it means in the US today. Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng This novel, set in the 1970s in small-town Ohio, shows the struggles of the Lee family after the sudden death of their teenage daughter, Lydia. Unsure if it was murder or suicide, the book slowly reveals backstories for each of the characters until we find out what ...