Author: Dee’s Reading Tree

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A Very Large Expanse of the Sea Review

Dee’s Reading Tree

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay, so you all know I love the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi, if you didn’t then you know now, this book has nothing to do with the series, but it’s still amazing. This new novel is about a Muslim girl named Shirin, and the struggles she goes through post the events of 9/11. Shirin wears a hijab every day to school and in public, which makes her a target. She has endured so much hate in her life that she has put up giant walls to protect herself and her feelings. Then, she meets Ocean, a boy determined to bring those walls down brick by brick.

I think the whole point of this book cover was to relay the message: “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” which I feel is the main idea in this story. This cover is terrible, and staring at it for too long gives me a headache, but it didn’t stop me from reading the book and I hope it won’t deter you either.

I was stuck in another small town, trapped in another universe populated by the kind of people who’d only ever seen faces like mine on their evening news, and I hated it.”

shirin

The characters in this book were so real. Mafi has a way of delving into teenage angst and feelings like no other author I’ve ever read. I also like when those feelings are validated, like in the case of Shirin, and they’re not the product of teenage drama. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Shirin and her tough attitude. I could feel her internal debate and I was undecided along with her. On the one hand she wanted others to accept her for who she is. On the other, she was afraid that getting too close to people would only end up hurting her and hurting them in return.

Ocean was so direct, and he knew exactly what he wanted when it came to Shirin, although not so much when it came to his future career. He was so sweet I couldn’t help but cheer for him the whole time, while also being scared for him and his reputation like Shirin was.

If the decision you made has brought you close to humanity, then you’ve done the right thing.”

Shirin’s dad always had the best advice

I also liked Shirin’s no-nonsense parents, even if I thought they should’ve paid a bit more attention to the struggles their daughter was going through and what moving from school to school all the time could do to her. I could understand their need to move around in order to better themselves and do what they thought was best for their family. Her parents loved tradition, but they didn’t make her wear the hijab, she chose to wear it every day for her own reasons.

We broke apart, fighting to breathe, holding on to each other like were drowning, like we’d been lost, left for dead in a very large expanse of the sea.”

shirin

I loved this story, and I hope you will too.

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WWW Wednesday

Dee’s Reading Tree

On Wednesdays I share what I just read, what I’m currently reading, and what I plan on reading next.

What I just read:

1. The Sparrow -by Denna M. Davis ⭐️⭐️ (review pending on onlinebookclub.org)

I am not allowed to say much about the online book club reviews. I will post the link to it later on when it’s approved.

2. The Watchmaker’s Doctor -by G.M.T. Schuilling ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another online book club review which I posted yesterday.

3. The Wicked King -by Holly Black ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I posted all about this amazing book last week ♥️

What I’m currently reading:

1. The Red Scrolls of Magic -by Cassandra Clare

This has been a much anticipated book on my TBR list. It came out this month and it just became available for me to read on Overdrive.

2. Crooked Kingdom -by Leigh Bardugo

This book started right in the middle of the action and I love it for now. I had to put it on hold to finish The Red Scrolls of Magic before it expires.

3. Legendary -by Stephanie Garber

This is a re-read because Finale (the 3rd book in this series) is coming out soon, and I had to brush up on the events of this book.

What I will read next:

1. One Dark Throne -by Kendare Blake

I better get to this one soon before I forget everything that happened on the first book.

2. Daughter of the Pirate King

I just picked this one up while on vacation. I heard the second one in the series is also really good.

That’s all for now guys!

What’s on your WWW lists? Leave a comment below!

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The Chemist Review

Dee’s Reading Tree

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer, we follow an ex-agent on the run from her previous employers, who have already sent several people to kill her. She used to work for a government organization so covert it doesn’t even have a name. Then, she receives a message from her former boss offering her a way out. They don’t call her “Oleander” for no reason. Our heroine has a very special set of skills and she knows how to use them. She will do anything it takes to clear her name and get the target off her back.

Don’t let hope make you stupid”

the chemist

I never thought Stephenie Meyer would be able to pull off a good adult fiction book (after The Host), but she did not disappoint. I don’t understand the bad reviews I have seen on Goodreads, maybe people were expecting another Twilight book?

The beginning is kind of slow, but I promise you it gets better. I felt it was necessary to describe the complex process our main character goes through every single day just to keep herself alive. The readers have to know why she is eventually willing to risk everything just to clear her name. Simply put, she can no longer live the way she does.

I cannot say much about the characters without ruining the plot. Remember this whole book is full of secrets, and you won’t even learn her real name for a while. The male character she falls in love with I thought was a super sweet guy. Their romance was realistic and endearing under the circumstances, like the fact they are mostly running for their lives.

The book had a lot of humor even though it was such a dark serious topic, and the interactions between characters were entertaining. Also, the dogs in this book! They are amazing! I don’t think I have ever used so many exclamation points. I wish I had dogs like that, so well trained and loyal.

Sometimes we cling to a mistake simply because it took so long to make”

the chemist

This book had a gripping plot full of twists and surprises. The action scenes had that “heist movie” feel where your heart pounds just reading it, and you can just see everything going on in your mind’s eye; while the whole time you are rooting for all these characters because it’s hard not to fall in love with them and want them to succeed. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes thrillers, and dogs 🙂

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Monday Cleaning Day

Dee’s Reading Tree

Monday is cleaning day in my household. My goal is always to get all the deep cleaning done in one day so I can spend the rest of the week doing other things, and only needing to touch up here and there.

This week I decided to do the same on my Goodreads TBR list. I have 70 books on there right now and it’s getting a bit out of control. I started by organizing the list in reverse order, filtered by the date the book was added so that the older books show up first. Then, I went through the first ten books. For each one I read the reviews of those who’s opinions I trust on my friends list, I also read the synopsis again, and finally I made a decision. Keep or delete.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

I’m not even going to pretend I thought about deleting this one. I will always read anything Maas writes, even if it’s a narrative about watching water boil. This book is highly anticipated and I cannot wait for the cover reveal. I know it’s going to be epic.

Keep : )

Can’t wait for the cover reveal!!

Imagine Me (Shatter me, #6) by Tahereh Mafi

I’ll admit I was a little disappointed with the last book. I felt like it was more like a filler book, and it could’ve just been a novella. That said, I definitely want to finish this series and I hope Mafi will redeem herself with this one.

Keep 🙂

Catwoman: Soulstealer (DC Icons, #3) by Sarah J. Maas

Please refer to book one on this post.

Keep 😉

Circe by Madeline Miller

I have never read a book by this author before which made me a bit hesitant. But, I currently have seventeen of my Goodreads friends who gave this book a good review. I also love books about Gods. It reminds me of the book Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

Keep 🙂

One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns, #2) by Kendare Blake

I really liked the first one of this series, and I am really curious to know what happens next. Her books do start out a little slow, but once they pick up they’re great.

Keep 🙂

La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1) by Philip Pullman

I really liked the whole Eragon series. But I think I have outgrown these type of books.

Delete 😦

Shadow of the Fox (Shadow of the Fox, #1) by Julie Kagawa

I love most of her books, except the Talon series, so this could be a hit or miss. I decided to read a sample before making a decision. The first sentence reads “It was raining the day Suki came to the Palace of the Sun, and it was raining the night that she died.” Well now I have to read it.

Keep 🙂

Untitled (Oxygen, #2) by Shelly Crane

I loved the first book called The Other Side of Gravity, but I have lost hope that she is ever going to write a second one. She wrote the first one back in 2016. I’ve been holding on to hope for too long and it’s time to let go. If she ever does write one I am sure I will find out.

Delete 😦

The Seeker and The Soul (The Host, #2 and #3) by Stephenie Meyer

Meyer wrote The Host in 2008, once again I’ve lost all hope. I’m starting to think she never really announced these for real and it was all made up by the fans.

Delete 😦

Hold on to Me and Melt for Me (Against All Odds, #2 and #3) by Elisabeth Naughton

I really liked the first book in this series Wait for Me, but I feel like it should’ve stayed a stand alone book. I was happy with the ending, an it looks like a lot of other reviewers felt the same.

Delete 😦

Okay, so really I ended up deciding on twelve books instead of ten, but only because some were part of a series. In the end I deleted six out of twelve books and it feels right. Like spring cleaning.

Were you sad or surprised I deleted any of these? Which ones would you definitely keep? Leave me a comment!

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My Guilty Pleasures

Dee’s Reading Tree

Do you have a certain genre that is not your usual cup of tea, but once in a while you just feel like reading one of those books? For me, it’s any book by Nicholas Sparks or J.R Ward. I know those two shouldn’t even be in the same sentence together, but hear me out.

And though you may call me a dreamer or fool or any other thing, I believe that anything is possible”

Noah -The Notebook

The last Nicholas Sparks book I read was Every Breath, and I was just in a light romantic mood. These are the only times I can read his books. Honestly, I don’t like how every main character always has daddy issues, but I do like the beach settings and I always find meaning in his work. My favorite books of his are The Notebook and The Longest Ride. Both movies were also great, but of course never as good as the books. By the way, The Notebook has been one of the only movies that made my husband cry (that and Marley and Me .p.s. if you love dogs just don’t put yourself through that). We are both hopeless romantics at heart, and this is why I have a soft spot for Nicholas Sparks books.

It’s strange, I think, the way our lives turn out. Moments of circumstance, when later combined with conscious decision and actions and a boatload of hope, can eventually forge a future that seems predestined”

Ira -The Longest Ride

My next guilty pleasure is J.R. Ward books. I came across my first book of hers when I was leisurely browsing through a drug store book isle for something quick to read. It was the first book from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series called Dark Lover. Being just out of High School and still besotted with the Twilight series, I saw “vampires” in the description and I was sold. It turned out to be an awesome book. It was fast paced and entertaining, albeit full of alpha males and testosterone spilling all over the pages, but I loved it.

From then on I was hooked. Now, every time I am in the mood for something full of humorous dialogue and a lot of action, I pick up one of these. There are currently seventeen of these books by the way, along with a shorter spin off series called Black Dagger Legacy. Also, a warning that her books contain very explicit sex scenes.

What are some of your reading guilty pleasures?

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Bookish Bucket List

Dee’s Reading Tree

I have a regular bucket list which includes things like “learn to drive stick-shift” and “help baby sea turtles reach the ocean.” Today, I realized there are many book related things I want to accomplish, and what better way keep track of them than with a Book Bucket List?

So without further rambling or reminiscing here are three things I’m adding:

Read Moby Dick by Herman Melville and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Now I know what some of you are thinking. Half of you are saying: “What do you mean you haven’t read them? The other half are saying: “Why would you put yourself through that?” Because I can that’s why! Also, I have owned those two books forever and I feel that it’s time. I was just out of College when I got them, I attempted to read them and never really finished them. I had an English Lit professor who talked so passionately about them that I had to go and get them. I was probably not in the right frame of mind, but I will try again before I kick the bucket.

Go to London

Both Harry Potter and The Infernal Devices series were set there. I’ve always felt a connection to the gloomy gray streets of London, even if I have never physically been there. I’ve been there in mind and spirit, and I feel like I should come full circle and experience it in person. Also, I think a picture of me inside one of those red phone booths from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix would be fantastic.

Own the rest of the Throne of Glass series

Okay, so for some obscure reason I ended up with only the first book and last book of this series. Once again I know what you’re thinking: Just buy them! No really, please tell me to just buy them so I can justify it to my bank account, and my husband. There are many other series that I need to complete or own, but this one really bothers me. First, because the covers are so gorgeous. And second, I have a big girl crush on Celaena (used this name on purpose not to ruin for others), and how awesome would it be to stare at her on my bookshelf ALL day on six different book covers?!.

Please drop me a comment and let me know what’s on your book bucket list? I would love to hear form you!

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My TBR Basket

Dee’s Reading Tree

Who else has a never ending TBR (To Be Read) pile?

Mine currently includes:

~The Lord of the Rings (#1 and #2, I still need to get #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien

~Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

~One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns, #2) by Kendare Blake

Am I the only bookworm who has never read “The Hobbit” or “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy? I’m so ashamed to have those on my basket.

Daughter of the Pirate King was a new acquisition while on vacation. I’ve heard it has a strong female character, and those are my favorite.

Finally, I really need to get to One Dark Throne, the third one of the series is already out and it’s getting really hard to avoid the spoilers.

And these are only the real books I have yet to read. I still have a long list of e-books I haven’t gotten to, and a huge “To Read” shelf on Goodreads.

How about you?

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The Wicked King by Holly Black

Dee’s Reading Tree

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to”

Madoc

In this sequel to “The Cruel Prince” by Holly Black. We continue the story of Jude Duarte, a human in the realm of Elfhame, who is struggling to hold on to her newly acquired power over its high King Cardan and his subjects.


We get power by taking it”

Madoc

The graphics on this cover were amazing, and I loved the little drawings of dragonflies throughout the book along with the drawings at the beginning of each chapter.

The dialogue between Jude and Cardan was so entertaining to read. I could just read about those two talking forever.


For a moment,” he says, “I wondered if it wasn’t you shooting bolts at me.”

“And what made you decide it wasn’t?”

He grins up at me. “They missed.”

I have said that he has the power to deliver a compliment and make it hurt.

JUDE AND CARDAN

As we read on, we see Jude become a pawn in this “game of kings and princes, of queens and crowns,” as Locke puts it, all while she tries to resist her growing attraction to Cardan. By the way, I know everyone loves Cardan, but I kind of fell in love with Jude. She is brave, witty, and strong. She is everything I love in a female character.


It occurs to me that maybe desire isn’t something overindulging helps. Maybe it is not unlike mithridatism; maybe I took a killing dose when I should have been poisoning myself slowly, one kiss at a time”

Jude

This book is fast paced, and full of plot twists. I admit to staying up reading until 3am a couple of nights. I kept telling myself I would stop at a neutral point in the story where my mind wasn’t racing and reeling with questions, but these points were few and far between. Any book that makes me voluntarily lose sleep is an automatic five stars for me, because as a mother of two, sleep is not easy for me to come by.



Fear is terrible, but the combination of hope and fear is worse”

Jude

After all my years of reading, I give props to Holly Black for surprising me with this ending. Of all the endings I ever imagined, this one never crossed my mind. I remember posting on Twitter that I needed therapy right after finishing “The Wicked King.” If you haven’t read “The Cruel Prince” yet, which is first in the series, go ahead and catch up and then read this one. I promise you won’t regret it!

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Mini Beach Vacation

Dee’s Reading Tree

Confession time. I took a little mini-vacation over Easter weekend and went to Fort Myers Beach so…I haven’t gotten down to writing my review of “The Wicked King” by Holly Black yet. Granted, I think a vacation was absolutely needed after finishing that book, so I won’t apologize.

But, I found the nicest little used book store at the beach called “Annette’s Book Nook” (they have a Facebook page if you want to check them out!), which was a definite plus!

Doesn’t it look amazing?! I could’ve stayed there all day. My husband almost had to drag me out.

While in there I bought:

“Daughter of the Pirate King” by Tricia Levenseller (which I’ve been meaning to read forever).

And

“The Lord of the Rings” (The two towers, #2) by Tolkien (p.s. I hate movie covers too, but I couldn’t pass up how cheap it was).

Also, I would have you know that I didn’t totally slack during this vacation. I actually read a lot of “Crooked Kingdom” by Leigh Bardugo. Do you know how hard it is to read from a screen in the sun?! Almost as hard as it is to take a picture of it. The book is great for now by the way, it will be the next book I review.

Stay tuned for my review of Wicked King, I promise I will post soon!