What Romance Novels are Doing to my Brain.

 

I'm pretty sure romance novels have ruined my dating life. It's a pretty big statement to make, and I'm sure as I type this review random things will pop into my head and this post wont end the way that I currently intend it to. 

I read a lot of novels with romantic themes and undertones. Everything from contemporaries by Nora Roberts (she was all I read in high school), to books like How to Love by Katie Cotugno and Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover. On top of that, some of my favorite books that fall under other genre's are the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi (Dystopian), Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong (Urban Fantasy) and the Black Jewel books by Anne Bishop (fantasy). Despite the fact that all of these books have solid plots and platforms, there's romance everywhere and I wonder how it affects our minds on a subconscious level (even though I love all the romantic aspects and may die without them).

I'm pretty sure that one of my college professors isn't going to turn into a wolf and bite my finger so that I can become his werewolf wife. I'm also pretty sure that someone wont sneak into a jail cell just so they can rescue me because they fell in love with my kind nature while we were in elementary school. I know these things because no matter how absorbed I find myself in these books, I know their mealy works of fiction (unfortunately).

That being said, the relationships between the protagonists of a book are always so out of this world that I don't know how it's possible for a real man or woman to live up to them. These people are so selfless and understanding that they're willing to go to the ends of the earth and back for their significant other (figuratively and emotionally). In Maybe Someday Ridge is so in love with Sydney that she's the only person he's verbalized to in like 10 years (Ridge is deaf). In the Women of the Otherworld series, Clay is so in love with Elena, that despite the fact that she has literally left the country to get away from him, he still waits for her. Is it so much to ask for to want that kind of dedication in real life... probably.

In conclusion...I don't really have a conclusion. It's really just food for thought.

I wonder what other romance readers out there think. Let me know, I love comments.

Teaser Tuesday- Entwined with You

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•  Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teasers!

My Teaser

"Standing there in his unbuttoned vest and impeccable tie, he was making it hard for me to think properly. He was beautiful and passionate and everything I'd ever wanted, which made it nearly impossible for me to deny him anything."

Pg. 17 Entwined with You by Sylvia Day

Review: Sins of the Father by Thelonious Legend

This was going to be a special year for the Parker sisters. Eve was going to dominate in the classroom and on the basketball court. Gwen was going to make the starting five and go down in history as the greatest prankster ever. Ana was going to do as little as possible. But without warning, all three sisters gain extraordinary abilities that defy science... powers that come with a cost. Now all they want to do is make it through the school year without drawing any undue attention, while racing to find a cure before the side effects of their new abilities kill them. Eve's temperament, Gwen's fondness for pranks, and Ana's predilection for money, however, are challenges they must overcome to achieve their goals. Because if they can't, they're dead... (Goodreads)
 
received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was excited for this book because I'm in constant search for a book with African-American protagonist where we don't see any of the African-American stereo types. I can't stress the importance of books featuring African-American characters where the protagonist must over come to temptation of drugs and gangs, or where the character is affected by absentee parents, teen pregnancy, or abuse. There are children who grew up in those environment who need to be encouraged to fight for something better, what they deserve... a better life than the one they were dealt. However, it's also important for those of us (because I am African-American for those of you who didn't notice) who grew up in suburban environments to read about characters like us. I didn't grow up in a city. I have two parents and two younger sibling who love me. I got average grades in school and played the flute in band. I want to read books about characters who look like me. I want to read books like those written by Sarah Dessen, Veronica Roth, Tahereh Mafi, Holly Black, and Colleen Hoover that feature characters with dark skin and braids. Don't get me wrong, I understand why there aren't more books like this, I'd done the research, I understand why there aren't more books like that out there, which is why the heart jumps a little bit when I find books like Sins of the Father. 

I love that this book features an African-American family who are upper class, as opposed to something you might read in a Walter Dean Myers book, or something a part of the Bluford High Series. It's a book that someone who grew up like I did can relate to. I like that Gwen, Eve, and Ana all have such defined solid characters with their own personalities that contribute to the story. I have to say, however, that I had a hard time reading the dialogue of the book. I specialize in working with teenagers, I have siblings who are 14 and 17, I was in high school myself  only 10 years ago (wow that's actually a lot). The teen characters read to me as if they were teens written by adults, they don't quite flow for me. I found myself reading passages thinking "that's not how teenagers speak".

The concept for the book was amazing. I loved the characters, I just wish that some of the character speech didn't take me out the of the story.

The Lessons We Learn from Harry Potter

Just now, I stumbled across a Tweet posted by @Bookvibe that had a link to an article that spoke about a paper published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology by an Italian researcher. The researcher "report(s) that kids who read the series — which features a world in which elves, werewolves, goblins, poltergeists, and other fantastical creatures coexist — exhibited fewer prejudiced feelings toward stigmatized groups, when compared to kids who didn't read the books. " I can't seem to read the published article itself because I'm not affiliated with any organization that had access to the magazine (or I'm just confused and can't figure out how to do it) but the idea that Harry Potter can teach kids empathy and acceptance is something I've always stood by.

I understand that there are people out there who don't like Harry Potter for a multitude of reasons. One of which I hear time and time again is something about how the only reason Harry's still alive, or made it as far in (insert book title here) as he did, was because other people saved him. Well world, duh, that's kind of the point. No man is an island, it takes a village. Harry Potter is full of themes such as those. I guess the most blatant example of Harry Potter teaching kids empathy is the dynamic between Hermione and Draco. Was Hermione a little irritating sometimes? Yes. Were there moments when I just wanted her to be quite and stop ordering people to bed? Yes. Did that mean that it was okay to read about Draco calling her a Mudblood ( I don't even like typing the word) which is the equivalent to calling another person by a racial slur in the real world? No freaking way!! The world Mudblood isn't real, before Harry Potter was a thing, if someone shouted Mudblood from the rooftops, everyone would have looked around confused then carried on with their day. Reading Harry Potter allowed (or allows) children who have never thought about racism or bigotry in a true sense, to witness it and to want to stand against it. There's not a single person who read those books and agreed with Draco Malfoy's horrid taunting.

There are many other aspects of Harry Potter that had the ability to instill empathy into readers, Harry's abuse by his family, the Weasley's financial difficulties, SPEW and Hermione's hunger strike, the treatment of werewolves, not to mention the fact that Voldemort was essentially Hitler, the list goes on and on. In theory all of these ideas should be made "real" in a history class as children learn the horrors of racism, the holocaust, and the equality that we're all still fighting for, but the truth is, it may not. It isn't until we feel like we've been victimized, or those we love have been victimized that these concepts become real and we want to fight against them. If an author does their job correctly the readers know the characters, they love the characters, they empathize with the characters, and the readers may become better human beings because of it.

Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black. (Goodreads)

This is definitely one of the more interesting vampire novels I've ever read. In this novel, the vampire epidemic was spread by one vampire who moved from major city to major city, turning humans. Flash forward, the world now knows of the existence of vampires and have quarantine the major towns where the spread began calling them Coldtowns, their vampires, infected humans, and anyone who thinks becoming a vampire would be cool (because we all know those people exist) are locked away to create communities of their own. 

Tana woke up after an over night party to death... everywhere. She saves her infected (which means he's going to turn into a vampire or turn cold) and a random vampire chained to the floor. While trying to escape she is injured and fears that she may be infected as well. They journey together to the nearest Coldtown where poor Tana is swept into various sorts of trouble.

Tana, I liked her. It may have had something to do with the fact that I was listening to the audio book, but I was a fan. I was a fan because unlike many heroines she seemed very real. Did she accomplish things that normal people never would? Yes. Did she throw herself into stupid situations? Yes. However, she admits to her fears and... it may be a stretch some time but I feel like a lot of the stupid situations she put herself in, she did for good reason... most of them.





Gavriel. What can I say there. I like his character. As much as I like cuddly vampires (insert Jeaniene Frost here) I like the Gavriel was raw, dangerous, and real. Or as real as vampires can be. 




Oh, and before I forget, thank you Holly Black for the character of Valentina. I'm not sure it I've ever read a book with an openly trans character. Every time I see something like this I applaud the literary world for taking steps toward equality. #weneeddiversebooks


I freaking love the ending. I can't tell if there's suppose to be a second book. As much as I want one to read more about all of these amazing characters, I'm not sure if there should be a second book. I like letting my imagination run wild.

Waiting on Wednesday - The Fall

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

Release Date: October 7, 2014
~*~*~

I'm a fan of Poe, I can get behind this!

Teaster Tuesday- The Secrets of Lily Grave

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•  Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teasers!

My Teaser

"The call that changed everything came the following afternoon while I was crammed into a casket, up to my eyeballs in white eyelet."

Pg. 17 The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer