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My Ramblings on The Temptation of Adam by Dave Connis

12/27/2017

Title: The Temptation of Adam
Author: Dave Connis
Release Date: November 21, 2017
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Author Website
(Book Provided by NetGalley)

Summary:
Yeah, his mother left, his older sister went with her, and his dad would rather read Nicholas Sparks novels than talk to him. And yeah, he spends his nights watching self-curated porn video playlists.

But Adam is fine.

When a family friend discovers Adam’s porn addiction, he’s forced to join an addiction support group: the self-proclaimed Knights of Vice. He goes because he has to, but the honesty of the Knights starts to slip past his defenses. Combine that with his sister’s out-of-the-blue return and the attention of a girl he meets in an AA meeting, and all the work Adam has put into being fine begins to unravel.

Now Adam has to face the causes and effects of his addiction, before he loses his new friends, his prodigal sister, and his almost semi-sort-of girlfriend.

My Ramblings:

So this is a hard one for me to review. On the one hand, this is an amazing book. Like so good that I couldn't put it down. I had it on my phone and I was picking it up to read a few pages between classes, on my breaks, in the car (when someone else was driving). I was wholly invested in the characters and the mystery and their recovery that I needed to know what was coming next. On the other hand, the author made a choice that completely derailed my momentum and I found myself obsessively doing research to figure out if this choice was based on fact or if it was just some artistic license to push the story forward. This is a problem I have that other readers may not. I'm a researcher at heart. I tried to be a writer once, but what I discovered was that what I really loved was the research, discovering something new, following a trail to see where it led. TO me that's fun. It's probably why I have degrees in History, Library Science and Cultural Heritage Preservation - all three are super research heavy. When I attempted to be a writer I had binders of cool tidbits or research, but no real desire to put it into a story. When I read (or watch TV and movies) sometimes a fact will jump out to me as not quite right and I'm off. I'll fall into the black hole of research for hours and if it bears fruit, if the author's claims check out I'm all in. Nothing is cooler then learning something new from a book, especially if that thing seems far fetched. However, if I can't fact check it. If there is no discernible facts to back up the claim, then I'm out. I'll finish the book, I might even enjoy the book (as I did here), but there will definitely be a little cloud above it that won't go away. When I talk about the book, there will always be an aside, or an *, "This was a great book, but..." So that's where I am with this book... It's great, really great, but... and in order to talk about that, be warned, there will be spoilers.

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My Ramblings on Juliet Takes a Breath

12/20/2017

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Title: Juliet Take a Breath
Author: Gabby Rivera
Release Date: January 18, 2016
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books
Author Website
(book provided by Netgalley)

Summary:
Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that’s going to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. She’s interning with the author of her favorite book: Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women’s bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff.

Will Juliet be able to figure out her life over the course of one magical summer? Is that even possible? Or is she running away from all the problems that seem too big to handle?

With more questions than answers, Juliet takes on Portland, Harlowe, and most importantly, herself. (from goodreads.com)

My Ramblings:

This was such a powerful book. Focusing on Juliet, a 19 year Latina from the Bronx, the story follows her as she tried to figure out who she is and what she wants out of life. I personally loved that Juliet is both completely sure of who she is, and also totally confused by what that means for her. The book opens with her cold emailing the author (Harlowe) of her favorite book and remarkably getting a response and an offer to be Harlowe's summer intern. Taking a giant leap of faith Juliet come's out to her family and then promptly flies across the country to take the opportunity of a lifetime.

Harlowe's world in Portland, OR is a far cry from Juliet's in NY and author Gabby Rivera does a phenomenal job weaving the stories of all the people Juliet meets together to create a tapestry of humanity that allows the reader to look at the world we live in.

My only negative for this book is that the world Juliet is thrust into is full of new worlds and acronymns (like poly for instance). Initially Juliet doesn't want to admit that she doesn't know what all these things mean, afraid to look stupid in front of someone she looks up to. However, Juliet's lack of understanding can also represent the readers lack of understanding. While I was able to follow the vast majority of what was being referred to, there were still moments that I had to step away from the story to look something up, which killed the momentum of the story.

That aside, this book is such a worthy read and provides a look at what it's like to trust yourself and take a chance on a life you might never have experienced otherwise. That's a message that goes beyond the protagonist and her story and everyone can relate to.

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My Ramblings on Star Wars: The Last Jedi

12/18/2017

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Release Date: December 15, 2017

Let me start by just saying that I'm a huge Star Wars fan. If you read my review of The Princess Diarist, then you already know this. If you know me in real life, you definitely know this. I've seen every Star Wars released in the theater (thanks to that time they re-released the original trilogy) and I always see the movies with my Dad. It's a tradition that we will hopefully get to keep having for years. I was stoked to see this movie, and also, as usual, a little nervous. What if this was the movie that ruined the series? Although let's be honest, we survived the prequels, so we would probably be fine.

The Last Jedi really didn't disappoint at all. I personally thought the story was great, it traded on tradition and the familiar just enough to make us all feel at home, and then twisted it and introduced exciting new characters and abilities, so that it felt fresh and not just a retread of what we have already seen. Rey and Kylo are the perfect balance of the force and the movie really uses that relationship to show that it isn't as simple as good and bad, dark and light.

After this point there will be spoilers.... you have been warned. If you haven't seen The Last Jedi yet, enjoy this trailer, buy your tickets and go see the movie! I'll see the rest of you after the break.