Book Review - Outlawed by Anna North

 

Seventeen year old Ada has everything going exactly how she wanted it to be. She is happily married to her husband and she is working with her mother, a respected midwife. However, a year into their marriage, Ada isn't pregnant and this is dangerous in a town that is known for hanging barren women as witches. She realizes she might have to leave her hometown along with everything else she has even known.

She joins the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a group of outlaws lead by preacher turned robber named Kid. Kid is charismatic and has dream of creating a safe haven for women who are outcasts. The gang hatches a plan to make Kid's plan a reality but, the plan is dangerous enough to get them all killed. Ada is struggling to decide if she is willing to risk her life for the possibility of a better future for them all.

This isn't the type of book I would normally reach for but, I thought it was an interesting read. I find that the book is relevant to women in this day in age. The book has themes of women needing to have children before they are deemed useful to society and the struggles of women to get proper medical care along with issues with gender norms. I felt like there was some parts of the story that could have been fleshed out more along with the character. Some of the members of the gang was so cookie cutter, that I often confused them. I also couldn't believe that every single female character we were introduced to was barren. It was an okay read but, it wouldn't be something I would go out of my way to read again.

Book of Review - A Circle of Elephants by Eric Dinerstein + Giveaway

Photo Credit - Amazon

Nandu is a thirteenth-year-old elephant drive who lives in the Royal Elephant Breeding Center in the jungle. The King's elephants in the compound are protected in the stable. Nandu and his friends at the center are tested when an earthquake hits Nepal, which the locals deem to be a bad omen. Nandu and his elephant, Hira Prasad, have an unbreakable bond but, becomes strained when a series of event upturn their lives. Will Hira Prasad and Nandu be able to keep their bond? Is the earthquake a sign for more evil to come?

This novel was one of the best novels I have read this year (yes, the year did just start). The author wrote the novel so beautifully, that I felt transported to Nepal being surrounded by lush foliage and being there with Nandu. I love how the characters felt so real because they were flawed people trying to do the best with what they have. Overall, I love this book and I can't read more books by the author.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. This post may contain affiliate links which means I earn advertising and/or referral fees if you purchase an item through my link. Please note, there will be no any extra charges to you. Thank you for your support.**  

About The Book:

Title: A CIRCLE OF ELEPHANTS

Author: Eric Dinerstein

Pub. Date: January 22, 2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 288

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD

From the author of What Elephants Know, a 2017 ALA Notable Children's Book and winner of the 2017 South Asia Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, comes this stunning companion novel about the complex relationship between people and nature coexisting in the Borderlands of 1970s Nepal.

Thirteen-year-old Nandu lives in the newly established Royal Elephant Breeding Center on the edge of the jungle. Here, the King's elephants are to be raised under the protective watch of the stable. Nandu-along with his adoptive father Subba-sahib, his mentors, friends, and the rest of the elephant drivers-is tested by man and nature as earthquakes, drought, wild herds, and rumors of poachers threaten the Center.

When Nandu's world is thrown into turmoil, so, too, is the world of Hira Prasad, the Center's powerful bull elephant. An unbreakable bond of brotherhood drives Nandu and Hira Prasad together as they struggle to maintain the delicate natural order of life in the Borderlands.

Dinerstein's poetic prose and scientific expertise come together in this breathtaking tale that transports the reader to the center of dangerous conflicts and heartbreaking friendships.

About Eric: 

Eric Dinerstein is Director of Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions at RESOLVE. Previously, he was Lead Scientist and Vice President for Conservation Science at the World Wildlife Fund. His areas of specialty include tropical mammals, large mammal biology, biogeography, bats, rhinos, seed dispersal and community ecology. With the World Wildlife Fund, he led many of the organization's most important scientific projects, including the Global 200 Ecoregions, examples of which form the basis of his book TIGERLAND AND OTHER UNINTENDED DESTINATIONS. Dinerstein is also the author of THE KINGDOM OF RARITIES, THE RETURN OF THE UNICORNS: The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros and WHAT ELEPHANTS KNOW: A Novel, among other articles and publications.

He attended Northwestern University and Western Washington University, and did his post-graduate studies at the University of Washington (Organization of Tropical Studies) and the National Zoological Park's Conservation and Research Center.

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Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of A CIRCLE OF ELEPHANTS, US Only.

Giveaway Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2389ba2879/?

Tour Schedule:

Week Two:

1/21/2018- Lifestyle of Me- Review

1/22/2018- Loie Dunn- Review

1/23/2018- YA Books Central- Interview

1/24/2018- The Layaway Dragon- Excerpt

1/25/2018- Two Points of Interest- Review

Book Review - High Cotton by Debby Mayne

Photo Credit - Amazon

The Bucklin family has a family reunion almost every few months which is why no one really wants to go but they go to avoid being talked about. Shay Henke has mixed feelings about the next reunion. She is looking forward to meeting her family and spending time with them but she has been single for so long and knows everyone would only focus on her being single. Days leading up to the event, Shay learns a secret her sister-in-law is keeping along with juggling her childish twin cousins. When Shay's high school crush moves back home, will Shay be able to deal with all the drama?

The book is enriched with Southern heritage values with names such as Digger, Puddin', Missy, Southern gentleman values, and sweet tea. When I first read the summary, I assumed the deep, dark secret was going to be something terrible and horrendous. When, the cat was out of the bag, the secret was quite laughable especially since the person already knew. The characters' dynamics were interesting and fun to read especially at the family reunion pieces but I felt some of their values were a bit old fashioned. I also found it disheartening that three people go from being alone to finding love in less than 100 pages at breakneck speed.  Along with many characters thinking their problems would end their world but was solved a few pages in. The story was told by four females' point-of-view, but I think I would have preferred maybe just two, so we would get more details into that person's life.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Review - White Fur: A Novel by Jardine Libaire

Photo Credit - Amazon

Stars collide when Elise Perez meets Jamey Hyde on a cold winter afternoon. While, they are next door neighbors, they couldn't come from more different worlds. Elise was raised by a single mother in a housing project and didn't graduate from high school. Jamey is a junior at Yale and is heir to a sizeable inheritance with famous parents. What started as a basic sexual attraction turns into something more when the couple decides to move their relationship into serious territory and move to Manhattan to search for a new life together. The author takes us along the way as couple trying to maneuver the hostile environment that wants to keep them apart and they consequences they face when they follow their hearts.

When I first saw the cover, I was thought this was going to be a gritty cool romance novel. How could I be more wrong?! I didn't like either of the main characters who both seemed selfish and vain but yet claim to love each other. I assumed the author usually wants the readers to fall in love with the characters and hope that their romance can weather any obstacles thrown their way. However, I wish nothing more than the two ill-matched characters to crash and burn. I also felt that the author was trying to hard with her writing style and it made it incredibly hard to finish this otherwise short novel. I felt that the novel went on and on while the story barely progresses.  A mediocre book at best and I definitely don't see how this was "Kirkus 11 Thrillers for Summer 2017", when the story never barely progresses along with an ending that seems unbelievable. 

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Review - Door to Freedom by Jana Kelley

Photo Credit - Amazon

Mia and her family are Christians living in the Islamic country of Sudan. Christians are being persecuted and ostracized for their beliefs. The Weston family try to spread their faith among their friends and neighbors while trying to avoid scrutiny. The daughter of wealthy Sudanese Arab, Rania seeks to find the answers after her older sister's disappeared. Mia and Rania cross paths but will Mia be able to provide Rania with the answers she needs? What answers does the book Rania's sister left behind contain? Will the Weston family be able to share their faith?

This is the sequel to "Side by Side" and can be read alone. I actually own both books but decided to read this one forgetting the other book came first. The story is split between the Weston family and Rania. While, the book was enjoyable I found Rania's story more enjoyable and wished it was a greater focus of the story. There are some elements of the story which is vague, like we are never told why the Weston family moved to Sudan and what  Mia's husband, Michael does for the Keller Hope foundation. I do love, how this book gives a wonderful glimpse of Islamic culture, beliefs and customs. A decent book but I don't see myself ever rereading this book but I would be open to reading other books by the author. 

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Book Review - The Secret Language of Sisters by Luanne Rice

Photo Credit - Amazon

A heartwarming tale of two inseparable sisters coping when a tragedy strikes leaving one of them paralyzed. Tilly's text message is the reason for Roo being in the hospital bed. Roo and Tilly are not only sisters but best friends. They are able to read and understand each other when no one else can. When Roo is lying in the hospital struggling for someone to understand her; Tilly is able to tell that her sister isn't in a coma and needs help. Roo went from being the independent older sister who takes care of her younger sister, Tilly to relying on others.  Will Roo and Tilly be able to to move past this and be together again? Will they be able to keep their bond intact?

I never had a sister but reading this novel made me wish I had one. Not to say growing up with a brother was horrible (although, the endless days of torturing...) but I sometimes wonder if I would have a strong bond as Roo and Tilly. But having a sibling, always does give you this bond of knowing someone will there for you even if you are at each other's throat. The special bond knowing you are never alone and growing up in the same house and sharing the sam experiences but turning out completely different. The book made me realize sometimes we just don't realize how lucky we are to be alive and we are holders of our future and actions. No one can't make us do something we don't want to do and we are responsible for the outcome of our actions.

**Disclosure - I received an uncorrected copy of this book from a giveaway for my honest opinion**