Sharing Good Books: Sugar Rush

Sugar Rush - by Rachel Astor      

There’s nothing quite like your first bite.

Dulcie Carter has been running her family’s homemade sweet shop, Candy Land Confections, on her own since her mom passed away. But business is slow and rent is high, so Dulcie knows if she wants to keep her mom’s dream alive, she’ll need a miracle. Winning the annual Assembly of Chocolatiers competition will change everything, if only she can overcome her fears and bring herself to create something new for the first time in a long time.

Then she meets Nick, a molten-hot guy with a sexy smirk and chocolate brown eyes. The attraction is stronger than any sugar rush—until she discovers he’s set to inherit his family’s big-box candy shop in town, which is her strongest competitor for first prize. Nick’s got his own reasons for needing the win, but then being around Dulcie is proving addictive.

As the competition heats up, so do the sparks between them. Can they keep their sights on winning, when love might be the sweetest prize of all? (Goodreads)

This book was utterly adorable. I've probably read at least a thousand romance novels in my life, and this one stood out as unique for several reasons.

#1: Candy. The plot revolves around CANDY. It's sweet and feel good, and even though I got anxious at one point, it never felt angst-ridden... which I like.

#2: Awkward characters. Both of the main characters are adorably awkward around each other. The guy isn't this suave alpha. He's just a guy. The girl isn't some Mary Sue who lets the guy walk in and boss her around. They're real people and act like real people attracted to each other. It's refreshing.

#3: Plot other than romance. I'm always disappointed when I read a romance novel that practically has no plot except the characters getting together. I'm not saying this happens all the time in romance, but I found myself more focused on the candy plot and more anxious about the candy plot than about will they/won't they (which is GOOD, because it's a romance novel--of course they will).

#4: No sex. I didn't actually realize this until I finished the book. When it did finally dawn on me, I realized why the book felt so light and adorable and enjoyable. Besides the candy, of course. I tend to skim sex scenes in romance novels for the dialogue. I know, shame on me. But the fact that this didn't have any sex was a huge bonus for me. If you like your romance steamy, you should pick this up anyhow, because it's so freaking cute.

#5: Adorable. If you ever watched the show Pushing Daisies and loved it for the adorably awkward romance and bright colors and pie, then you will love this book. It feels like Pushing Daisies. I LOVE Pushing Daisies, so for me to say that means something.

Other than the fact that this book will make you want candy hardcore, I can't really think of anything I didn't like. (And is wanting candy reeeeally a bad thing?) There's also a recipe at the back for one of the candies in the book. That's right. CANDY RECIPE. Now go. Buy. Read.

Sharing Good Books: Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty - by Elle LothLorien

Sure, Claire Beau thought about sleeping with her doctor. With his moss green eyes and sexy petulance, neurologist Brendan Charmant is definitely worth fantasizing about. But she didn’t actually do it…did she?

Claire should be able to answer this simple question, but she has no idea. All she knows is that she met him in a sleep lab for an appointment one day, and woke up at home seven weeks later to find that he’s suddenly her warm and loving boyfriend instead of her cold and remote doctor. According to Brendan, her brother and all their friends, Claire is in the middle of a whirlwind love affair with him, a claim bolstered by the weeks of steamy emails and text messages the two of them have exchanged. But to Claire, he's just the arrogant doctor with only a passing interest in finding a diagnosis for her debilitating symptoms.

Claire Beau is afflicted with “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome,” a mysterious disorder that causes her to sleep for days at a time, and black out for entire weeks. Dr. Brendan Charmant might have given her the best night (or two, or three) of her life, but she has no memory of ever seeing him out of his white coat. Still, she can’t help finding herself more than willing to fall for him (again). After all, doesn’t every girl deserve a Prince Charming?

But when Brendan’s arrested, and she discovers that she’s the alleged victim of a heinous crime that she can’t recall, she’s crushed to find that her dream-come-true was all just a cruel illusion. Despite having no memory of the actual crime, there are mountains of damning evidence against him. So why is she risking everything to save both of them from this hellish, waking nightmare?
(Goodreads)


What got me interested in reading this book was finding out the author wrote a version with an alternate ending. (Janet Reid had posted about it on her blog.) There's something very tempting about getting to see the consequences of a different set of actions and decisions. Reading an interview with the author, she said something along the lines of going back to the tipping point and rewriting it from there. Ms. Lothlorien really cared about making sure the alternate timeline existed because the characters made slightly different choices, not just to appease fans in camp love rival. When I read that, I was sold. Someone who cares that much had to write an interesting book, right? Right. She didn't just swap out boy #2 for boy #1 and call it good. (Did I mention it was a love triangle?)

Yeah. Normally I rant and rave about love triangles. In YA fiction. Romance novels are a little different. I don't see them nearly as much, and if it furthers the plot, then I say go for it. When I say I've read several hundred romance novels in my life, I'm probably being conservative in my estimate. No joke. I won't disparage romance novelists and say once you've read one you've read them all, but there is a general story arc that's almost universal to romance novels. When you're well-read in a genre, you can probably tell how many pages are left just by what's happened without even looking at page numbers. It's not that they're predictable, they just follow a pretty standard format. And yeah... you know the girl has to end up with Mr. Right. It's law.

So this love triangle? Pretty interesting. There's no insta-love, well, not really anyway. There's also not the familiar romance arc. I looked down, sure I was 75% of the way through the book, but I was only like 22% done. Yeah. Shocker. And I kept reading until 4am because I couldn't put it down. I kept telling myself to go to bed but I couldn't. I HAD to know what happened next. I'd read spoilers (because of the interview talking about how she handled the alternate ending), and I still had no idea how it was going to all work out for these characters. I was anxious. There was some pretty serious shit going down.

This wasn't your girl meets hunk, girl and hunk have opposing goals or are at odds in other tension and conflict inducing ways, girl and hunk work it out and achieve happily ever after kind of story.

The MC doesn't remember big chunks of her life due to a medical condition, even though she's up and walking around. Certain events during those black out weeks cause her already complicated life to unravel around her.

I didn't need all the surfer lingo, honestly. It was like reading the surfer version of A Clockwork Orange. Yeah, she interpreted, but I think a sprinkle of surfer speak would've given us some flavor without reminding me why I don't care for Pointbreak. (Which she mentioned, funnily enough.) 

Was it transformative? Probably not. Then again, I don't expect to be transformed by every book I read, just transported. Did it transport me? Heck yeah. Did it turn the standard romance format on its ear (in a really good way?) Yup, yup. Will I read other things by this author? Oh yes. After all that, I'm not sure I'll read the alternate ending. I think she ended up with the right person, and I'd be a little squicked at her ending up with who I think is Mr. Wrong. Still, if I ever feel like rereading it, I might get the alternate version and read that instead, just to see. (I mean... at 2.99 it was pretty affordable.)

It was refreshing. I'd recommend it to people that don't need their romances to follow the standard arc, like some mystery, and don't mind feeling anxious because of shit hitting the fan.

Sharing Good Books: Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants - by Sara Gruen
As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
(Goodreads)





I seriously wish I could just say 'read it', but it deserves so much more than that. People have been telling me to watch the movie forever, and it's sat in my Netflix queue just as long. I honestly don't know why, either. Anything circus related usually has me chomping at the bit. I'm so, so glad that I didn't watch it, though, and read the book first. (EDIT--especially because I just watched it, and trust me, the book is so much better it's astounding.)

Imagine my surprise and delight when I got to my rental condo in Florida and one of the books on the shelf was Water for Elephants. I snatched it up, spun in circles, and exclaimed to the whole room how much I'd wanted to read it. We were in Sarasota, FL, so it was kind of perfect given Sarasota was the winter home of the Ringling Bros Circus. Caught up in this book, I desperately wanted to visit the Ringling Circus Museum, but at $25 a ticket, I passed on that. (I am full of regret and plan to rectify this next April. CIRCUS MUSEUM. Ugh. Damn me and my thrifty tendencies.)

I LOVED this book. Every few pages I'd tell my little sister exactly how much I loved it. I'm pretty sure she got sick of it.

I love Slaughterhouse Five for the narrative structure. (Among other things, of course.) I read it almost a decade ago, so am due for a reread, but it still sticks in my mind as brilliant. Vonnegut jumped around in time, and for some reason, that non-linear structure really does it for me. Too often I guess the end of movies and books, and I suppose I like non-linear because it's harder to see exactly what's coming. Not to mention it's just fun.

Water for Elephants is kinda like that, minus the aliens. We alternate between a young twenty-something Jacob, and a ninety-something Jacob (he can't quite recall anymore). Part of what makes it so fantastically done is that because of his advanced years, the flashbacks make sense. He loses track of time. The flow between past and present is handled magnificently. There's even a circus in the present time to tie it all together.

The characters are so real, sometimes disgustingly so. Sometimes I wanted to throw the book because I'd get so angry at August. I alternated between disgust, delight, terror, anxiety, and a whole other slew of emotions. It felt real. I was actually shocked when I finished the book and looked at the author and saw it was written by a woman. The male voice was so strong and authentic, I just assumed the author was male. That's good writing. She transported me.

I was so invested in these characters, I literally shouted I'd get so angry. In the present timeline, when Jacob's family let him down, I was pissed. I was more than pissed. I was livid. I turned to my sister and explained the whole situation just so I could have someone to complain to about how incredibly unfair and tragic it all was. (She's thirteen. I'm twenty-five. She humored me.) Jacob was a real person to me. He deserved better. Also, there were clever writerly things Gruen did that I appreciated. (Did I mention how much I love non-linear narrative?)

I actually think the least developed character to me was Marlena, which is kinda funny given she's the love interest. But maybe she was just a little overshadowed by some of the saltier characters like Walter. You could really see the passion the author had for the history of circus. It just felt so authentic and real. I also really enjoyed the photographs from the Ringling museum that were included.

Maybe it's just me, but I was most interested in Jacob's journey, so didn't care one way or another about the romance aspects. The parts that kept me reading were the intense parts... the redlighting and animal abuse. (Would everything turn out OK for Rosie?) I know a lot of the negative reviews I've seen focus on a 'contrived romance and thin character of Marlena.' If you're reading for the romance, this might be a problem for you. I didn't find it contrived. (Trust me. I've read my share of romances with unlikely fate-driven relationships. This was not one of them.) Personally, I wouldn't even classify this as a romance. That's just me, though. Without the romance, you'd still have a strong book, so take that how you will.

Sara Gruen wrote a truly remarkable book. It definitely deserved every little bit of hype it received, as well as its long stay on the NYT best-seller list. I literally cannot think of a negative thing to say about this book. It was executed perfectly. Plus, the cover is so damn cool.

Well, perhaps it gets a little graphic for younger readers. But it's seriously no more graphic than a romance novel, and I started to reading those in seventh grade. I certainly read things a lot more graphic for classes in high school. For high school aged students this would certainly be appropriate. It's a new classic and every single last one of you should trip over yourselves getting to the library to read it. I don't know what took me so long.

Sharing Good Books: Hive

Hive (No Man's Land Series #1) - by Griffin Hayes
Nearly two hundred years after the planet was ravaged by millions of undead Zees, the human race is still struggling to rebuild. The Zees may be long gone, but so too are centuries of scientific advancement.

A group calling themselves The Keepers of Knowledge have set out to retrieve and protect what little technology survived the fall. When four of their Prospectors go missing, the Keepers turn to a no-nonsense mercenary named Azina and her eclectic crew of hardened veterans to find them.

The search leads the group to a crumbling underground city. But what looks like just another ruin from a bygone era isn't nearly as deserted as it appears. Soon, a simple rescue mission becomes a slippery descent into hell as Azina and her men unwittingly awaken a savage, bloodthirsty world. Who will stand and fight, and who will be lucky enough to stay dead?
(Summary from Amazon)



I love zombie fiction, and HIVE is exactly the kind of zombie story I like. It's set far into the future, which is far more appealing to me than zombie fic that takes place during the initial outbreak. I think it's more fun to imagine the lasting effects of the zombie apocalypse rather than read or write yet another version of how they come to be. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. I read those, too. I just love the world-building in post-apocalyptic tales.)

I don't tend to read novellas but am glad I read Hive. For .99 on Amazon, it's a steal. Most of the free or bargain priced books I've gotten for my kindle are painful to get through. It makes me feel for agents and editors tackling their slush piles.

Hive is nothing like those slushy books--it's actually pretty fantastic. The cover is just perfect, too. Creepy and graphic and indicative of what's inside.

The story moved along at a good pace, with the action scenes clear in my mind--which is so important for something action-heavy like this. The voice was great, very engaging. I pictured the MC almost like Frankie from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow... fierce, badass, and likeable despite (because of) her hardness. I'm usually not even a fan of first person present POV, but Hayes does it so well that it adds to the story, not detracts.

I thought the characters were realistic and well rounded. Especially considering this is a novella, he did a great job fleshing out the characters. Even with the low word count, some of the characters felt more real than those in beefier books. Sneak, especially, struck me as as a compelling character. I want to know her story.

That's the problem with novellas--I wanted more! (But that's just me being selfish and not a fault of the author's.) I could easily have read this at 80-100k words and not been bored. The world Hayes built was really rich, and I loved all the hierarchy and structure, because that's what people do. It made sense. Luckily for us, this is the first in the series. I spoke with the author and a lot of the questions Hive left me with seem like they'll be answered later on. Good! Because in the short time we had, I really grew to love these characters.

Of course, the ending was jam-packed with action, I mean... hello, zombies! Hayes created some really original zombie mythology here. The whole concept of the hive itself--being able to sense the others, their communication--it was so unique, but it made so much sense. It doesn't violate my sense of zombie history, but instead, I feel like it's a missing piece of zombie lore that we're gifted with.

Also, I feel like I must mention that the night I read Hive, I had an Amish zombie inspired dream. Hive was good, I really, really, really wanted more, and it gave me a fantastic scary dream. Why aren't you reading it yet?