Review: Bishop Street

Title: Bishop Street
Author: Rene D. Schultz
Format: Ebook (Kindle)
Pages: 333
Date(s) Read: Oct. 06 - 15, 2013 
Rating: 4.5 (Originally a 3) 

Summary: 
Margaret Gray for the past twenty years remained hidden behind a facade of normalcy.  Riches and fame weren't always hers.  At seven she was dropped off at the Bishop Street Orphanage.  Beneath the cruel hand of Sister Theresa she forms a bond with her roommates.  At thirty-nine the nightmares return, and she hires a private detective to find her friends, starting a journey that will test her strength of character.  

Review: 

I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I had been slacking on getting this one done, mainly because even so many months later it has stuck with me.  Rene is one of those writers that you cannot read her books without having tissues handy, kinda like when I'm reading anything John Green...seriously, all the feels and all the tears. 

Originally I'd given this book a 3, however in going back over this book and re-reading a few things I've changed my ultimate review to a 4.5 because I believe it was worth the bump up.  

This is a book that will leave you with goosebumps and quite a few shed tears.  However, it is a heartwarming story that will leave you with a warm feeling of joy by the time the final word is read.  I spent many times unable to put the book down (to the dismay of my roommates and my own hunger) when I was reading it because I couldn't actually tear myself away from this story.  

I love the style of writing that Rene offers, her skill allows each and every character room to breathe and express themselves and ultimately entrench themselves within our hearts and minds.  Her characters are very real and very much vivid as you read through her work.  

Thank you Rene for ultimately offering me a chance to read this book and offer my words (even though I'm quite a bit late getting this review to you!)

Bibliophile's TBR and More for March

Okay, I know you can already see this list just there...*points to the pretty list off to the side of the blog*  However, I also like to put together a concise post of what I intend on reading each month.  Yes, before you say it, you will see five carry over books that is mainly because I have a slightly addictive relationship with my library card and it is a rarity that I can actually step foot into the library without coming out with a stack of books that usually take precedence over any books that I actually own (mainly because I have to give them back at the end of a twenty-one day period....or forty-two day period if I can actually renew them...though it rarely takes me longer than twenty-one days to read some of the books...).  

This Month's TBR is already somewhat daunting for me, as it includes the book that will be the longest book I've read so far this year.  So far, the longest is The Bone Season by Samantha Shanon at a comfortable 480 pages which surprisingly only took me 5-ish days to read.  This year I have been slightly more OCD about tracking my reading, and I have a spreadsheet in Google Docs that I am tracking a variety of things including the amount of page numbers I've read for the year.  At the end of February I have read a massive: 9414 pages worth of books. Once I finish the books I have listed in my spreadsheet (not all of them are on March's TBR list, but will probably be read throughout the month) I will have read 15525 pages worth of words so far in 2016.  

Anyway, here are the things I intend on getting read during the month of March 2016....

1. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira - Started 2/29/16 - 336 pgs

2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Started 2/29/16 - 336 pgs

3. Trigger Warnings: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman - 310 pgs

4. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin - 355 pgs

5. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber - 901 pgs

6. Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten - 336 pgs

7. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz - 359 pgs

8. The Number 7 by Jessica Lidh - 272 pgs

9. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee - 278 pgs

10. The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdleh - 395 pgs

The following books will be supplemented to my TBR and may at times take precedence to those that are either from the library or those that I own, because they were given to me by authors to review: 

1. Assassin's Lament by Michael Cairns - 329 pgs

2. Ninja Zombie killers I by Michael Cairns - 242 pgs

3. Locked Inside by Annette Mori - 199 pgs

The following will also be supplemented and find places among this month's TBR because I'd lapsed in getting these read and reviews posted and I do owe it to the authors to finally get these reviews posted (and often it will require re-reading the book)...

1. Banished Love by Ramona Flightner - 289 pgs

.2. Death's Servant by C.J. Ellisson - 119 pgs

3. A Silent Prayer by Samreen Ahsan - 339 pgs

4. Darkness Watching by Emma L. Adams - 207 pgs

5. Just Beneath the Surface I by R.H. Ramsey - 217 pgs

6. Landon's Story by R.H. Ramsey - 292 pgs.

I have been slacking on my reviews, and I do hope to remedy that and ultimately catch up to the place where I have all the books that are listed in my Completed list, but lacking actual links are done.  So to do that, I am hoping to have on top of all the weekly fun posts throughout the month at least two to three reviews posted daily here on the blog.  I don't want to overwhelm, so they will be at staggered times throughout the day if I do more than three per day.  So, check back often for reviews and weekly goodies!  

Book of the Week: The Martian by Andy Weir

It's SUNDAY!  You know what that means!  It's time for another Book of the Week...though seriously, do you have any idea how hard it is to pick one fantastic book to feature each week?!  It's insanely hard!  

I cannot believe February is almost over! We have ONE more full day left before we are officially in March....the third month of the year.  Holy crap where has the rest of the year gone?  I mean, it's already passing by so very quickly!  

Anyway, without further adieu, here is this week's Book of the Week! 

The Martian

Andy Weir

This book is absolutely fantastic!  It had me laughing from start to finish.  I love all the characters in this book and I'm actually looking forward to seeing the movie and I really, really hope that they kept in some of my favorite parts! 

Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.  However, now he's certain he'll be the first person to die there.  A dust storm forced his crew to evacuate, nearly kills Mark.  Well, the storm didn't kill him, and now Mark is stranded on Mars with no way to even send a signal to Earth to let them know he's alive.  Even still, it would be a chance of them getting to him before his supplies ran out...which probably wouldn't happen. 

Though, there is a good chance Mark won't be starving to death.  Nah, damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or just 'human error' is likely to kill him first.  Will his ingenuity, engineering skills, and refusal to quit be enough to keep him alive and overcome the insurmountable odds against him? 

I highly recommend you check this book out, and I'd love to know what you think if you've already read it!  

What's On My Kindle? Unsorted Part 2

A book nerd that doesn't have this problem, is one that I am insanely jealous of.  Just sayin'.

Anyway, it is FRIDAY!  Yes, Friday!  We've survived another week!  You know what that means...time for another edition of What's On My Kindle? Where I share some of the books that I have stored on my kindle to read immediately, or allow them to sit until I forget they are there...only to come across them again when I am floundering for something to read (yeah, true story that).  You all also know that I am INSANELY OCD and organized when it comes to my kindle categories...so without further adieu, I present you this week's What's On My Kindle?

The first book in the HOUSE OF ROYALS series by Keary Taylor.  I snagged this one when it was free, and I'm actually looking forward to reading it.  I might actually add it to March's TBR pile, which I am currently formulating given the fact that we are nearly done with this month already (GASP!) which is absolutely maddening.  Though, it means that my birthday is getting closer (yeah, not sure why I'm excited about that.) ANYWAY, tangent ftw!  Alivia Ryan inherits Conrath plantation, and finds a mansion and staff who look at her with fear in their eyes.  Ian Ward, well, he attempted to kill her when they first met - and then insisted that he train her how to defend herself against the House.  Interested yet? I know I am! 

Another I'd snagged by an author I like and had been wanting to read things by her before. I'd read some short stories, some blurbs on facebook and things like that.  So, when Alpha was free on Kindle, I snagged it.  I'd checked the reviews, and things like that.  So, there are mixed reviews and this book definitely will end up being filed in my erotica section on my Kindle when all is said and done.  However, I'm willing to look over the reviews, and ultimately I will formulate my own opinion of the book and share my review when I ultimately read it.  
Basic premise is this: Floundering under the weight of bills and other financial obligations, girl gets check in the mail for 10k, cashes it.  Another month goes by, another check.  Totaling 120k over the course of a year.  Knock on the door...time to pay her debt...oh, and there were notes on the first three checks reading "You Belong To Me." 

This one, I think I'm saving for a day or so when I need an ugly cry.  Simply because that's what Colleen Hoover's books seem to inspire in me.  That deep, dark, ugly cry that makes you feel weak, empty and broken.  I am not sure I'm ready for that right now, and the fact that this is part one of three and I only own PART ONE is definitely a sign I should get the other two parts before I embark on this journey of emotional chaos.  Also, because this is part one of three...I have a feeling I will want to pitch my Kindle across the room when it ultimately ends because there is a good chance it will be a cliffhanger.  Ugly cry + cliffhanger = things get thrown.  

Wish List Wednesday: Released This Week

Welcome to this week's Wish List Wednesday!  There have been SO MANY good books released recently, and so many good books that are coming out soon!  The books featured this week are books that I want to grace my shelves and further enrich my life, and the best part is they released this week!  Yesterday to be exact!  So, without further adieu, here is this week's wish list! 

Okay, I have to admit, this book grabbed my attention simply because of the cover and the title.  Like seriously, that title.  How could it not make you go huh?  Either way, this collection of stories by British author Helen Simpson is one that I would be proud to own.  Simpson writes with wit, candor, and warmth about the complexities of modern life and her collections have been compared to such authors as Flannery O'Connor and Alice Munro.  This book released 2/23 in paperback in the UK.  Its original release date was Nov 5, 2015 in Kindle format, physical copies were released this year.

Prose and I are good friends, as are poetry and I.  I love reading them. D.J. Taylor's The Prose Factory only logically would end up on my wish list.  This book is gossipy, entertaining and an all around fantastic read full of details and anecdotes about the great minds of the twentieth century.  It holds so many up for scrutiny.  I look forward to ultimately getting a copy of this book in my grubby little hands in any format.  Though hardback would be most appreciated...because look at that awesome cover! 

Of Love and Desire by Louis de Bernieres.  A collection of love poems that had been written over a lifetime and effectively capture love in its many forms.  There is rapture, infatuation, urgency, sorrow, heartache and disillusion.  This is de Bernieres' second collection and there are traces of many influence ranging from classical Persian poets, Neruda, Quintus Smyrnaeus, Brian Patten...and many others.  The illustrations, beautiful things, are done by Doland Sammut. 

Rick Riordan.  Percy Jackson.  Greek Gods.  Gods in general.  Synonyms.  Seriously.  I absolutely love the rich world that Rick Riordan created with the Percy Jackson series.  This book includes a full color illustration by John Rocco, who was a Caldecott Honoree.  In this particular book, the son of Poseidon adds his own magic - sarcastic asides - to the classics.  You get Percy's personal take on the Who's Who of the Ancients from Apollo to Zeus.  If you are expecting restraint from the son of Poseidon, you will be disappointed.  I love the cover on this book and I can't wait to see the pretty illustration from John Rocco! 

Okay, I've read some Gena Showalter before, namely Alice in Zombieland which I was kinda lukewarm on.  However, I'm willing to give her another chance with this new release.  Once I can get a copy in my grubby little hands...either through the library or purchase or gift.  Ya know.  With this book, it seems an interesting concept.  Life as we know it is a dress rehearsal...real life begins after death.  Yeah, you read that right.  Our heroine, Tenley "Ten" Lockwood is seventeen and locked in Prynne Asylum - not for the reason you might think (her obsession with numbers) but for the reason that she will not let her parents choose where she will live when she dies.  Yeah, that.  Two realms exist in the Everlife - Troika and Myriad...both want Ten.  It seems interesting and eventually I'll let you know how I like it! 

What books top your wish list for new releases this week, this month?