Shelf Control: The Peculiars

This feature is from Bookshelf Fantasies

In this feature, you can share a book that you want to read that you already own.

My pick this week is The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance.

On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.

(Synopsis from Goodreads)

How I got it:

I got it at Chapters! It was on sale.

When I got it:

2 years ago.

Why I want to read it:

I initially bought this book because the cover intrigued me. After reading the synopsis, I confirmed that I wanted to read it because I am interested in books about people who are 'different' in some way, and this book seemed to have those kinds of themes.

Have you read The Peculiars? What did you think? Feel free to comment below!

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan

 

Series: Battle Hall Davies
Author: Sara Ryan
Page Count: 215
Published: May 26th, 2003
Publisher: Speak
  4 Stars ★★★★

Nicola is taking a summer course in archaeology at the Siegel Institute, because she wants to make sure that archaeology is really a field she wants to go into. She expects that confirming her dream of becoming an archaeologist will be the focus of this summer, until she meets Battle. 

Battle is beautiful, a minister's daughter, and soon captures Nicola's heart. While helping her new friends deal with their own issues, Nicola has to come to terms with her sexuality, and face her attraction to another girl. 

I thought that this was a nice twist on the YA summer romance trend. It has a lot of the same elements as others in this branch of YA, including spending time at another location, in this case an academic camp or institute, it includes making new friends and helping them deal with their struggles, and of course experiencing attraction to a beautiful peer. The twist is that two girls are the love interests, which is a welcome change.

Nicola is a great main character, I find her very relatable and believable because I feel like a lot of her struggles mirror those that teenagers face in real life, and therefore making a connection with her was very easy. Understanding a character's feelings and where they're coming from with their thoughts is important to me because it makes for a more emotional or a deeper read. 

Nicola is the kind of character you'd like to be friends with, the kind of person you'd be able to have a chat with and enjoy being around. Battle seems a bit more intimidating or untouchable, with Nicola's descriptions of her beauty and family issues, but she's still a generally likeable character as well. The rest of  Nicola's group of friends, Isaac, Kevin and Katrina, make the whole situation seem more plausible as well with their own issues, for example dealing with divorce. They were a great group of characters to read about and I like that over time they changed or evolved, even if only a little bit.

The author's approach to sexuality was well done, with Nicola's struggles and internal dialogue being extremely believable and realistic, and avoiding some of the stereotypical LGBTQ tropes I've come across in other books. The word bisexual was even used, and in a fairly positive way as well, which really impressed me because I feel like multisexual identities are so rarely discussed in an outright manner. The addition of homophobic characters was necessary, in my opinion, to mirror real-life issues that LGBTQ people face and the author delivered on this platform as well. Overall, I am very impressed with this book.

I do take issue with the length of the novel! The author did such a great job, but the book was so short. I wish it had been longer, and that maybe certain issues could have been expanded upon, such as Battle's family life. I'm going to be looking for the sequel and I really hope that it lives up to Empress of the World. 

I recommend this book to people looking for realistic portrayals of LGBTQ struggles in YA novels. If you want a short contemporary romance, this book is for you.

Find Empress of the World on Goodreads

Top 7 Book Crushes

So I saw a post I really liked at The Butterfly Reader and it got me thinking....All I really see is "book boyfriends", where people describe the hot, sweet, or otherwise desirable male characters they come across in books. But what about all of the lovely book girlfriends? What about swoon-worthy nonbinary characters?

As a pansexual person, I personally find myself attracted to people of all genders / regardless of gender. This, of course, carries over into the realm of book characters! So I thought I'd join in on these lists with my own interpretation. Here are my top 10 book crushes.


1. Raven from Vampire Kisses

 

She seems like she would be super fun to hang out with, she's sweet and I have a thing for goths. 

2. Sam from Shiver

 

A werewolf? Who sings????? Sign me up! 

3. Eve from Eve

 

Eve has a rebellious side, she's incredibly intelligent and she fights for what she believes in. I find those things super attractive in a person.

4. Varen from Nevermore

 

This list would not be complete without Varen, a mysterious goth boy who kind of reminds me of myself. Though that might just be wishful thinking ;) 

5. Meghan from The Iron King

 

I feel like Meghan is a very brave character and is loyal towards those she loves. 

6. Tanith from Skulduggery Pleasant / The Maleficent Seven

She's a bad-ass. She's got magic. She's pretty. She's determined. What's there not to love?

7. Bram from Dearly, Departed

I think that Bram is a really sweet character, and he's funny too. Definitely one of my book crushes.

So those are my top 7 book crushes as of now! I'm sure I'll end up with many more in the future. Who are your top book crushes?

One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards

 

  Series: N/A
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Page Count: 320
Published: October 4th, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
  4 Stars ★★★★ 

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley. 

In this book, Sera and some of her classmates are going on a trip and camping in the woods. When the weather turns bad, the group is separated, and she wakes up the next morning to find that her supplies have been ruined and that there is a word written on her wrist. She and the others in her group are unsure of what to think and are suspicious of each other.

It becomes obvious that something sinister is going on as they discover that they all have words written on their wrists, and Sera's word is the only positive one. Now, they not only have to deal with their own personal problems, but the threat of being hunted. With no way to communicate with the outside world, they aren't sure if they will make it out alive. 

I was really excited to be approved for this book on NetGalley! I'm a big fan of mysteries and the idea of people facing danger in the woods sounds super interesting to me. I enjoyed most of this book and I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time. I read most of it in a day. 

I like that this book starts off with the group in the woods. The plot began rolling very, very quickly and this got me hooked from the first few chapters. The relationships that the main characters had with each other were established pretty quickly, including some serious tensions and romantic histories. I feel like this foreshadowed the evolution of their relationships later in the book a little too obviously, because I knew right away who was going to end up with who. This irritated me a little bit, but I don't think it took away from the overall quality of the book.

However, I can't say the same about some of the events regarding the characters' relationships with each other that take place later on in the novel. There was too much focus on Sera's uncertainty regarding her attraction to one of the main male characters to be realistic in any way, considering their situation. If someone is fearing for their life, trapped in the woods, I don't think that they would be focusing on romance and such as much as Sera did. 

I feel like Sera was generally a likeable character, and each of the people in her group all seemed incredibly realistic and complex, like they were based off of actual living individuals. Sometimes they seemed a little over-dramatic, but overall I think that they really helped the story to move along quite well and made for an interesting cast of characters. 

Another thing that I enjoyed was the whole question of who the culprit was. I played a serious guessing game throughout this whole book, and while I was able to guess who was responsible and I ended up correct, there were many times when I doubted my suspicions and this made for a very suspenseful read. Unfortunately, I feel like the villain's motivation and reasoning behind all of their actions wasn't very believable. I have to admit that I was disappointed near the end of the book when all is revealed. 

If the romantic aspect had been handled better and the whole explanation behind the situation had been more believable, this definitely would have been a five star read. But besides those issues, I really enjoyed this book and I think it had a great creep factor with a ton of suspense! Using isolation, uncertainty and suspicion as a combination worked really well for this book, and I know that if the author writes another mystery or thriller I will definitely see if I can snag a copy. 

I recommend this book to YA readers who like mysteries. If you're interested in thrillers that take place in the woods this is a good pick for you.

Find One Was Lost on Goodreads

Shelf Control: A Witch in Winter

This is a feature from Bookshelf Fantasies

This feature allows bloggers to discuss books that they want to read that they already own.

My pick this week is A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

 

The first in a taut supernatural trilogy filled with action, suspense, witchcraft, and complicated romance

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her—but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain. When love is tangled up in magic, how do you know what's real?

(Synopsis from Goodreads)

How I got it:

I got it at Chapters.

When I got it:

Three years ago!

Why I want to read it:

I often go through "phases" where I want to read books with specific themes and creatures, for example vampires, werewolves, etc. I bought this during my magic phase! That was my original reason for buying it, but I also still want to read it because I think it sounds interesting, especially the idea of wondering if Seth really loves her, or if its just the magic.

Have you read A Witch in Winter? What did you think? Feel free to comment below!