Category: Book Reviews

Book Review – Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 5 / 5

Note: There are NO spoilers in this review. When discussing in the comments, please provide a spoiler warning if needed. 

A simple review wasn’t enough for this one. Betty needs her own playlist, which you can find here on my Spotify. 

Reading the novel Betty by Tiffany McDaniel is akin to undergoing a spiritual and emotional awakening. The stories woven into these pages are mythical and terrifying but somehow also beautiful and uplifting. You watch a young girl “come of age against the knife” but somehow instead of being broken into pieces, she’s built stronger with each turned page. 

Every time I was pulled away from reading Betty’s story, I could not stop thinking about her in our moments apart. Even now, after finishing the novel, I think about where she is now, how did the rest of her life play out? I want to know her. I want to surround myself with people like her. But, most of all, I want to be more like her. 

“What it boiled down to was a frenzied hope that there was more to life than the reality around us. Only then could we claim a destiny we did not believe was our own.”

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel, page 133

This journey captures the feminine experience, being at the disposal of the men and the world around you, with lyrical and heart wrenching prose. However, it still allows space for men who lift women up. The balancing act between true evil and goodness, and everything in between, is so spectacularly done when describing the various men (and women) Betty encounters; I’m not sure any author could begin to compare. I felt Betty’s pain. I felt her mother’s pain. I felt her sisters’ pain. And I wanted to hold them, and tell them everything would be okay. In them, I saw my friends, sisters, mom, and every woman I have had the pleasure of knowing who have experienced pain throughout their lives. 

Tiffany McDaniel does not stray away from the violence inflicted on women throughout our lives from family members and friends and men in positions of power. She shows that it’s not the color of your skin or the money you make or the profession you have chosen – at the end of the day you are either good or evil and there is no inbetween. You either have a soul nestled in the bridge of your nose or you don’t have one at all. 

I cannot recommend this novel enough. Go, now, to your closest (local) bookstore and pick this one up. Clear your schedule and grab a box of tissues. You have not read poetry until you have experienced the words written on these pages and the stories they tell. 

Buy Betty here on Amazon (or at your local bookstore)!

Have you read Betty? Let’s talk about it. Leave a comment or send me a message letting me know what you thought of the novel.

Posted on by cieraraeoldham 4

Book Review – Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Genre: Young Adult; Fantasy

Rating: 4 / 5 

SPOILER ALERT!

If you have somehow made it through the past 15 years without reading or watching anything Twilight-related, there are spoilers below. 

I need to be honest up front – I am an OBSESSIVE Twilight fan and I go very hard for Team Edward. It’s been more than a decade since I first met Bella, and I still watch the movies regularly. In fact, I just reread Twilight a few months ago. I tell you this because it’s important to know going into my book review of Midnight Sun. I have been waiting for Edward’s point-of-view for a while (like I said, over a decade). If you aren’t a Twi-hard, like me, you may not enjoy this one as much as I did, but here we go.

Much like the 50 Shades of Grey series from Christian’s perspective, this shift of in vantage point to let you hear, see, and experience everything from the other side. The preconceptions I had about what Edward was thinking were shattered as I finally got a look beyond Bella. Stephenie Meyer did an excellent job of weaving people’s thoughts with their verbal dialogue. It was easy to read and engaging. From the scene where the boys at school line up to ask Bella out to Edward’s complicated relationships with each of his family members – it gives a new light to the story. 

I was hoping we may learn more than we didn’t previously know, which didn’t happen. We had a glimpse of Edward’s “birth” and his early days, but it wasn’t more than what we previously knew. This is likely because Bella and Edward are together for a majority of the story and they are very open with each other. I think this will improve in the future books since the couple does spend some time apart. 

We also get a better understanding of Edward’s individual relationships with each member of his family. My favorite, which I won’t get into in hopes of not spoiling anything, is Jasper. He’s much more than we ever imagined. The love permeating off of Esme is also something to behold. I hope to be half of the mom she is.

However, there are some things we learn throughout this story that weren’t present in the first novels. First is about how Bella and Alice became such good friends. I don’t remember Twilight getting into the details of how Alice helped Bella recover from the fight with James, but Edward does give us some additional details that help explain the strong connection. 

Overall, I’ll just say this was a fun read. I was unable to put the book down and read it cover-to-cover in less than a week. I love this series and this just gave me another avenue to learn more about some of my favorite characters on a journey we started together long ago. If you are a Twilight fan, I highly recommend it. If you have yet to read any of the Twilight books, start with the original series and wrap it up with Midnight Sun. The original series is still at the top of my list. Even Edward Cullen can’t compare with that. 

Buy Midnight Sun here on Amazon (or at your local bookstore)!

Have you read Midnight Sun? Share your comments below!

Posted on by cieraraeoldham 1

Book Review – The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

Genre: Young Adult; Sci-Fi; Fantasy

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Note: There are NO spoilers in this review. When discussing in the comments, please provide a spoiler warning if needed.

I consume a lot of fantasy and sci-fi literature, movies, television shows, and video games. While I love a good sappy sparkly vampire story, it’s rare that a world, story, or universe created by an author feels real and like home. The older I’ve gotten the less I’ve been able to completely disappear into the depths of Mordor or the halls of Hogwarts. They are wonderful stories, but I don’t find myself pulled to them in dreams like I did when I was a child. 

This novel did just that. Lisa Maxwell builds a beautiful new take on magic in this mixed Fantasy/Sci-Fi world. If you are a lover of young adult or fantasy literature, I highly recommend this book. When I wasn’t sneaking a few pages into my day whenever I could (yay motherhood!) I was walking the streets of New York City in my dreams. I was alongside Esta and the other Mageus, shying away from the Brink and plotting to take down the Order. 

Ultimately, this is a story about a young girl, Esta, eager to prove herself while trying to figure out who she is and what she really wants. (Like young girls do) she struggles between her personal desires and how she was raised. It was refreshing to have a strong female character whose struggle wasn’t centered around being a woman. So often stories are told because there is a woman and she is strong and she’s doing something only a strong woman could do, but I find it frustrating that it’s “special” when a woman conquers a challenging obstacle. 

I never felt like this story was only important because a woman was at the center. This is such an intangible element to attempt to describe, but this made me hopeful for the future of literature and storytelling. I am so tired of feeling like it’s a novelty to have a powerful female lead. Women are just extraordinary, everyday. It’s not a novelty, it’s just reality. 

Esta’s choices lead us on a journey with many twists and turns, but they happen organically. Lisa Maxwell was never forcing an Ah-Ha moment on us just for the shock factor. The story flows and feels genuine.

Like most novels that shift between narrators, it took me a few chapters to find the flow. But the narrators have unique voices and, when you meet each character, the transition between becomes seamless. I found myself eager to hear from the different points of view in the scene. The impact helps to round out the picture and build tension, which remains from the first page through the last.

The push-and-pull of tension (sexual and otherwise) throughout the novel created a sexiness without any real “sexy” scenes. Don’t get me wrong, I am a sucker for an erotic novel (hello Christian Grey), but, thankfully, Lisa Maxwell didn’t try to force it into the story. The tension is ever-present and not always romantic. It pushes the story along and makes you want to keep reading more.

The last note I have is related to the time travel this novel is centered around. Generally, time travel as a plot device makes me uneasy. There is always something that doesn’t sit right with me, a loophole not discussed or explored, or the move back into the past erasing the entire story you just read (looking at you School for Psychics Book 2). However, in The Last Magician, it works. There isn’t a lot of digging into the science and there are no multiple timelines. Do something – the future is impacted. The story keeps it simple, which I appreciate, but doesn’t ignore the impact of changing the past.

If you are looking for a novel (and potentially series – stay tuned) to pull you in from front to back, this is the one. The Last Magician is a beautiful story and a new take on magic. The sights, sounds, and people feel familiar but with a unique flavor. This book will remain on my “recommend-to-a-friend” list.

Buy The Last Magician here on Amazon (or at your local bookstore)!

Have you read The Last Magician? Let’s talk about it. Leave a comment or send me a message letting me know what you thought of the novel.

Posted on by cieraraeoldham 4