In Flames by Richard Hilary Weber (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"San Iñigo is a jewel of the Caribbean, a playground paradise for the foreign elite, a hell for unfortunate locals. For recent Princeton grad Dan Shedrick, San Iñigo promises the fulfillment of too many desires.

Dan hires on at a powerful American firm as a junior architect, but still finds time for tennis, booze, a reckless affair with the sexy wife of a resort owner—even a bit of reconnaissance for the U.S. cultural attaché. But soon he discovers that nothing on San Iñigo is without consequence. When a much-loved local radio personality is found on a beach with his head blown off, Dan’s lover becomes a suspect. And not long after his foray into espionage, he’s dragged away on a brutal journey into the heart of darkness.

Buffeted by aggression, depraved ritual, and personal betrayal, Dan discovers fierce truths about San Iñigo . . . and himself. In the island’s forbidding mountain jungle, his life goes up in flames—a deadly inferno that will forever change him, if he survives at all."

My Thoughts:

This was a very unique reading experience for me.  I spent the majority of the book not quite knowing for sure what was going on exactly.  That sounds like a bad thing but surprisingly it wasn't.  In fact, for me it was actually a compelling reason not to put this book down.  This book is written in a way that gave me lots of questions with answers there were far and few between.  That makes it sound like the book was confusing but it wasn't.  It was the "why's" behind everything that was happening that left me guessing constantly and reading continuously.  Let me give you an example:  when Daniel gets to the island he realizes from the very beginning that he is an outsider compared to the other country club members on the resort where he is staying.  The why he is such an outsider though is a question that is constant throughout the book.  I'm not sure that Daniel every fully understands what separates him from the others.  All of these different questions added a layer of intrigue to the book.  There are lots of other examples but I don't want to give any spoilers away so I'll leave it at that.  

Daniel's character wasn't the most likeable yet it didn't bother me like it would in most books.  I just kept reading as I needed to see what was going to happen next.  By the end of the book I still didn't have him figured out but I don't think that I was meant to.  Because really, none of the characters and their motivations were ever fully explained.  It worked for me because even now I have been thinking about everything that happened.  This book has stuck with me and left me pondering.....I would really have loved the chance to discuss this one with other readers.

Overall, this book was a strange yet compelling read.  I'm finding it hard to really explain my thoughts in a coherent fashion so my apologies.  If you are looking for a fast read with more questions then answers, give this one a try.  Trust me when I say that the ending will surprise you.  It wasn't what I expected at all.  Definitely interesting, at times frustrating.  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A unique a book that left me thinking about it for some time after.

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of a TLC Book Tour.  Thoughts are my own.

Blythewood by Carol Goodman (thoughts)

Blythewood was my final read of 2014 and ended up being a great way to end the year!  I went into this book not knowing a lot about it (other than I have enjoyed both adult books by this author that I have read) and it worked out really well for me.  This was a book filled with questions, where I never knew quite what was going on, and the suspense/questions carried me through the pages with ease.  I loved it!

In this book Avaline Hall is taken in by her maternal grandmother after a few horrifying turn of events including the death of her mother, a fire, and a stay in a mental asylum.  Staying with her grandmother means getting the chance to go to her mother's old boarding school, Blythewood.  Despite never explaining the fallout that happened between her and her own mother, Ava's mother always spoke fondly of her time at Blythewood and her memories from there.  Ava realizes that to learn her mother's secrets she will need to go to that school to look for the answers.  Maybe now she will be able to finally find out who her real father is and what happened to make her mother leave Blythewood forever.  Ava is about to learn though that the world that she is stepping into is one that she could never have imagined.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book!  There are certain authors that you just trust as a reader and Goodman has become one of them for me.  For good reason too as she writes these books that just suck you in as the reader.  That is exactly what this one did to me!  Ava is about to step into this new world that she could never have dreamed of.  She's learning more about herself but she is also learning more about her mother's past.  All of these things led to questions for me as the reader.  This was mainly because I never quite knew what was going on for sure with this book.  The author took her time giving us pieces here and there.  It made the book so much more suspenseful for me!  I feel like I say this a lot in my reviews but this was yet another book that I just could not put down.  The author has set up such a unique storyline that feels different from a lot of what is out there.  It has a historical fantasy feel to it but there was just so much more.  I can't even explain without giving things away that I don't want to.  Suffice it to say that this book is exactly why I will read anything/everything that this author writes!

Other things I enjoyed about this book were the secondary characters.  Neither of Ava's roommates were what I expected and that was a good thing.  I'm eager to see how their characters grow and develop in the next book as this is part of a series or trilogy (not sure which).  There is a hint of possible love triangle that might bother others but what really left me excited at the end of this book was Ava's learning something new and completely unexpected about herself.  I am sure that this is going to play a huge role in the next book and I can't wait to see how!  The ending of this book was done well with things left open for the next book but not in a cliff hanger kind of way.  It just left me super excited to see what will happen next!  I can't wait to get my hands on book two!

Overall, this was a really great way to end my reading year in 2014!  There were so many reasons to love it but what really made this book stand out for me was the unique storyline.  I just cannot wait to see what this author does with the storyline in the next book.  I won't be waiting long to find out as my library has a copy that I can check out for me kindle!  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book and am hoping that more readers find it as it was a really great read.  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A delight to read as this book just sucked me in!  I love this author!

Disclosure:  I checked this one out from my local library for my kindle.  Thoughts are my own!

This book counts as book 1 for the Winter COYER challenge that I am participating in.  Woohoo!

Reading Events (Or Winter Reading Fun)

In the spirit of signing up for just about every reading challenge out there, I also found a couple of reading events that I couldn't resist.  I'm sure this doesn't surprise most of you.  What's one more right?  I'm going to use both of these to really get my reading off to a great start in 2015.  That's the plan at least!

The Winter COYER challenge is here (and actually has already started) but since it is three months long I'm joining in.  I have plenty of books stocked up on ipad and now kindle to keep me plenty busy.  Plus this will also help me knock out some of those NetGalley copies that keep piling up.  My favorite part is coming up with a list of possibilities for this so here are just a few of the books that I want to finish for this challenge.

 

 

 

If I manage to finish more that would be amazing but I'm hoping to read at least eight books from my e-reader for this challenge.  I will keep you updated on my progress as I go along. There are read-a-thons and lots of other fun stuff planned so if you want to sign up go here.

Bout of Books is back!  My first read-a-thon of the new year and I'm super pumped for it.  I always look forward to these read-a-thons as they are fun AND such a great way to start off the new year.  Here is the official blurb from the Bout of Books blog:

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team"

My goals for this read-a-thon are going to be very simple.  Read and comment.  That's it!  I'm not setting an amount of books or anything.  I just want to focus this week on reading and commenting on other reader's blogs.  It will be great and hopefully lots of fun!  I'm planning on reading this book and after that I will follow my mood:

I am really looking forward to finishing some great books and meeting some new bloggy friends thanks to these two events.  Are any of you participating in one/both of these?  Or do you have other big reading plans in the works?  Do share!