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My name is Ardis and I am an avid reader and budding writer. I want to share my love of books with others. I work with kids and am interested in finding and creating books that will ignite the reader in everyone. Contact me at: ardis.atkins@gmail.com

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MsArdychan's bookshelf: read

I Owe You One
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Love, Hate & Other Filters
The Wartime Sisters
The Belles
The Gilded Wolves
Hey, Kiddo
Blackberry and Wild Rose
Queen of Air and Darkness
Firestarter
The Retribution of Mara Dyer
The Evolution of Mara Dyer


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Tuesday, August 20, 2019

ARC Review: The Warehouse by Rob Hart

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45885120-the-warehouse?from_search=true
Please note:  I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Paxton never thought he’d be working for Cloud, the giant tech company that’s eaten much of the American economy. Much less that he’d be moving into one of the company’s sprawling live-work facilities.

But compared to what’s left outside, Cloud’s bland chainstore life of gleaming entertainment halls, open-plan offices, and vast warehouses…well, it doesn’t seem so bad. It’s more than anyone else is offering.

Zinnia never thought she’d be infiltrating Cloud. But now she’s undercover, inside the walls, risking it all to ferret out the company’s darkest secrets. And Paxton, with his ordinary little hopes and fears? He just might make the perfect pawn. If she can bear to sacrifice him.

As the truth about Cloud unfolds, Zinnia must gamble everything on a desperate scheme—one that risks both their lives, even as it forces Paxton to question everything about the world he’s so carefully assembled here.

Together, they’ll learn just how far the company will go…to make the world a better place.

Set in the confines of a corporate panopticon that’s at once brilliantly imagined and terrifyingly real, The Warehouse is a near-future thriller about what happens when Big Brother meets Big Business--and who will pay the ultimate price.


Review:
With Amazon "Prime Day" last month, the company, and its growing influence in America, has been something to think about.  The Warehouse, by Rob Hart, illustrates everyone's fears about a mega-corporation wielding unchecked power over the workforce, consumers, and society.  This book is thrilling, not just due to an addictive tale of corporate espionage, but because many of the elements are already happening in real life.  This book grabbed my attention and didn't let go until the exciting finish.

What I Liked:
Setting:
The story is set in America in the not so distant future.  The company known as "The Cloud" (a fictionalized Amazon) rises in influence after a terrible Black Friday incident makes most people afraid to shop in brick & mortar stores.  

What I enjoyed most about the set up for this book is that much of how The Cloud does business is eerily similar to how a certain company operates.  But it's taken to a whole other level of control.  From The Cloud's hiring practices, to how it gobbles up small companies, this book understands all the small ways that The Cloud influences society to the point where they dominate everything.

Characters:
The story follows Paxton, a down-trodden inventor who lost his company when The Cloud stole his product idea.  He gets it in his head that he will work for The Cloud and then confront the company's founder, Gibson Wells.  But once he starts working for The Cloud, he starts to forget why he was so angry.  Working at The Cloud is easy.  It's simple.  He doesn't need to think for himself.  He just needs to follow the rules without question.

Zennia is a new employee at The Cloud, too.  But her motivation for working there is more nefarious.  In a world of high-stakes business, corporate espionage can be, literally, cut-throat.

The story also shows the point of view of the company's founder, Gibson Wells.  One can understand how his vision for the world could be easy to follow.  He is both brilliant in his leadership and clueless about how his company operates.  Or is he...? 

Story:
The novel is a classic fish out of water story with Paxton and Zennia learning how this world operates.  Paxton slowly makes compromises that accumulate to a point where he actually enjoys working at The Cloud.  Zennia also starts to accept all the small things that make working for The Cloud so dehumanizing.  It's fascinating how all these small alterations in what we are willing to accept for safety and convenience add up to a situation that is so familiar and so scary.


Rating: 




Release Date:  August 20th, 2019

Author:  Rob Hart

Publisher:  Crown Books

Genre:  Thriller/Speculative Fiction

Page Length: 368 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  An exciting and frightening book!  Read it before they release the movie (seriously, I think production has already started). 
 
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Tuesday, August 13, 2019

ARC Review: All The Flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46226328-all-the-flowers-in-paris?ac=1&from_search=true
Please Note: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

When Caroline Williams wakes up in Paris with no memory of her past, she finds that returning to the life she has forgotten is harder than she thought. Even her cavernous apartment on rue Cler seems to hold no clues...
As she searches, Caroline discovers a hidden stack of letters written by a young mother, Céline, during the Second World War. Captivated by Céline's desperate love for both her daughter and her missing lover, and the haunting glimpses of Paris under Nazi occupation, Caroline begins to realise she may have more in common with Céline that she could ever imagine.
What dark secrets are harboured within the walls of her picture-perfect Parisian home?
And could uncovering the truth about Céline unlock Caroline's own...?  

Review:
I have long been a fan of historical fiction.  I love learning the details about a time and place I can never actually visit.  Plus, reading stories where where the characters are swept up in larger historical events are always fascinating.  I have mixed feelings about All The Flowers in Paris, by Sarah Jio.  Alternating between the 1940's and present day, the novel successfully presents the personal drama of a young mother in Paris trying to survive the Nazi occupation of WWII.  However, what did not work, in my opinion, was the part of the story that took place in present day.  I still found this story quite enjoyable and gave it a three out of five stars.

What I Liked:
Historical Details:
The author did a wonderful job of showing the reader what life was like in Paris during WWII.  From what people wore to the standards of living various classes of people had, one could really get a feel for how Parisians lived.  I particularly liked reading about the small pleasures Céline's daughter, Cosi, took in finding little treats to share with her stuffed teddy bear, and the joy she had in writing in a journal. 

Story:
The story, set in 1940's Paris, is really riveting.  As the story begins we see Céline, a young widowed mother, doing her best to ignore the signs that hard times are on their way.  She and her father run a flower shop.  If people are still ordering flowers for dinner parties, things can't be that bad, right?  But when Céline's beauty is noticed by a brutal Nazi officer, she learns just how much the world has changed.

The novel shows the changes that occur slowly among her neighbors.  It starts with people looking the other way as Germans harass minorities, and continues when people keep silent as their Jewish neighbors are arrested.  What was once unthinkable is now accepted.


What I Didn't Like:
Modern-day Story:
I felt the story set in modern times was unnecessarily melodramatic.  We learn early on that Caroline, the main character, has a bike accident leaving her mostly unscathed... except for a very large, and convenient, case of amnesia!  Really?  

             
via GIPHY

This was just ridiculous.  The author seemed to think that Caroline needed a huge reason to want to know more about the box of old letters she finds in her apartment.  But if I found such a stash, I wouldn't need a blow to the head to want to learn more.

This was also an absurd premise for the romance in the story and again, totally unnecessary.  There would have been plenty of emotional tension without this crutch.

Trigger Warning for Sexual Violence

Rating: 



Release Date:  August 13th, 2019

Author:  Sarah Jio

Publisher:  Ballantine Books

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Page Length:  320 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  Although the modern day story was silly, the tale of a young mother in Nazi-occupied Paris was very compelling.  I recommend getting this at the library.




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Tuesday, August 6, 2019

ARC Review: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39679076-house-of-salt-and-sorrows
Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (From Goodreads):
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.


Review:
With a description so Gothic and a cover that is achingly beautiful, I was excited to read House of Salt and Sorrows, by Erin A. Craig.  I was really impressed by the world-building, characters, and story.  There was plenty of Gothic horror that was very creepy, making this a fun book to read.


What I Liked:
World-Building:
The author did a wonderful job introducing the reader to the culture and society of the fictional Salann Islands. There is a complicated religion with gods and demons that, at times, appear and mix with humans.   There are nobility kind of like in Europe, with the oldest offspring (not just men) inheriting and titles and property.  Most pertinent to the story, there are many rituals that happen when a family member dies.  

I also love the detailed descriptions of the clothes the characters wore (which did become important in the story).  All of these details create a complex, satisfying world for the reader to immerse themselves in.

Characters:
Annaleigh and her many sisters have a life of sorrow.  One by one, her siblings are dying.  I found myself rooting for Annaleigh.  She is so full of love for her sisters, and has compassion for everyone, even her very young step-mother.  But she is also no pushover.  She could go toe-to-toe with anyone trying to push their will on her.    I also like that she was a Gothic Nancy Drew, questioning the string of deaths.
 

             
via GIPHY

Story:
The story had some truly creepy moments with twists and turns I didn't see coming.  I loved that certain moods in the story were tied to the weather (storms are NEVER a good sign in this novel).  There was plenty of suspense that made this book a page-turner.


What I Was Mixed About:
Ending:
The ending was a bit too tidy for my taste.  Given how suspenseful the story was I was surprised... Sorry I can't get too specific, but I hate:

             
via GIPHY





Rating: 




Release Date:  August 6th, 2019

Author:  Erin A. Craig

Publisher:  Delacorte Press

Genre:  YA Gothic Horror Fantasy

Page Length: 416 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation: If you like Gothic Horror, this is the book for you.  A super moody YA to be read on a rainy day with a warm cup of tea.
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