My Best Read of August 2017 - A Poll Off!

It's always hard to decide what the best books you've read in a year are.  We can look at our ratings, but those may change depending on our mood. It's really hard to compare some of those books against each other, especially when you've read them months apart, or they are on completely different subjects.

I'm going to have a friendly competition between the books I've read this year and see what YOU think was my best read in 2017.  I'm going to post a poll for each month of the year, with the books I've read in one list for you to vote on, so that by the end of the year, I'll have 12 books for a final poll to decide what the best book I've read this year was, according to you! There may even be a giveaway at the end!

Starting the first week of October, I will post a month's worth of books every week to be voted on, with the winner for that week going on the final list.

Here are the books I read in August, covers and links to Goodreads will be below the poll itself so you don't have to scroll if you already know your answer!  It's okay if you haven't read any of them, just pick the one that sounds the most appealing to you!

Update: I got a little behind on making polls, and there will be a giveaway at the end, so if you haven't read any of these, please still vote for the one that interests you the most. Chaos voting is okay! ;)

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Terrier by Tamora Pierce	American Gods by Neil Gaiman	Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
Gemina by Kauffman and Kristoff	Believe Me by Eddie Izzard	Odd & True by Cat Winters
	Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

My Best Read of July 2017 - a Poll Off!

It's always hard to decide what the best books you've read in a year are.  We can look at our ratings, but those may change depending on our mood. It's really hard to compare some of those books against each other, especially when you've read them months apart, or they are on completely different subjects.

I'm going to have a friendly competition between the books I've read this year and see what YOU think was my best read in 2017.  I'm going to post a poll for each month of the year, with the books I've read in one list for you to vote on, so that by the end of the year, I'll have 12 books for a final poll to decide what the best book I've read this year was, according to you! There may even be a giveaway at the end!

Starting the first week of October, I will post a month's worth of books every week to be voted on, with the winner for that week going on the final list.

Here are the books I read in July, covers and links to Goodreads will be below the poll itself so you don't have to scroll if you already know your answer!  It's okay if you haven't read any of them, just pick the one that sounds the most appealing to you!

Update: I got a little behind on making polls, and there will be a giveaway at the end, so if you haven't read any of these, please still vote for the one that interests you the most. Chaos voting is okay! ;)

Create your own user feedback survey

Ether & Elephants by Cindy Spencer Pape	My Lady Jane by Hand, Ashton and Meadows	Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F. C. Yee	The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin	The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley
	The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

A Hope Divided (The Loyal League #2) by Alyssa Cole

Description: The Civil War has turned neighbor against neighbor--but for one scientist spy and her philosopher soldier, war could bind them together . . . For three years of the War Between the States, Marlie Lynch has helped the cause in peace: with coded letters about anti-Rebel uprisings in her Carolina woods, tisanes and poultices for Union prisoners, and silent aid to fleeing slave and Freeman alike. Her formerly enslaved mother's traditions and the name of a white father she never knew have protected her--until the vicious Confederate Home Guard claims Marlie's home for their new base of operations in the guerilla war against Southern resistors of the Rebel cause. Unbeknowst to those under her roof, escaped prisoner Ewan McCall is sheltering in her laboratory. Seemingly a quiet philosopher, Ewan has his own history with the cruel captain of the Home Guard, and a thoughtful but unbending strength Marlie finds irresistible. When the revelation of a stunning family secret places Marlie's freedom on the line, she and Ewan have to run for their lives into the hostile Carolina night. Following the path of the Underground Railroad, they find themselves caught up in a vicious battle that could dash their hopes of love--and freedom--before they ever cross state lines.

Publication Date: November 14th, 2017
Imprint: Kensington Books
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Received From: Netgalley in exchange for honest feedback
My Rating: 4/5

I have always been drawn to Civil War fiction, John Jakes' North and South being an early favorite of mine.  I have been interested in trying Alyssa Cole's Loyal League series, and when I saw A Hope Divided available on Netgalley I jumped at the chance, and luckily was approved!

I enjoyed the characters, Marlie is in a difficult position of being considered Negro, yet protected by her family name, and Ewan is not at all your conventional romance hero, often unsure of himself and confused by Marlie's reactions, being relatively inexperienced with the opposite sex.  He's very detail oriented and inventive, in this story someone who constantly tries to keep his mind occupied by reading, and fixing and thinking things through logically.  Marlie is a good match for him, and is constantly challenging the philosophical ideas he has held as guiding precepts in his life.  They are both firmly scientific, but Marlie's healing skills, though carefully derived and precise, originate from a background in arts a little more mystical from her mother, that she struggles with, on the one hand wanting to reject them as unrealistic, but on the other, sometimes they seem to prove out in unexpected ways. 

There are plenty of heart stopping moments as Marlie's home is invaded by the Confederate Home Guard hunting down deserters and resisters, and her life quickly changes and even becomes endangered, her family name no longer a protection compared to the color of her skin. Overall this was an interesting story that gives a good representation of the fear and complications of being a Union sympathizer in the South during the Civil War, and I recommend it if you enjoy stories set in this time period.

The Sunday Post #13

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Bowling is going well!  I have bowled twice for my team when other ladies have been absent and I felt great! I even bowled decently for me! I have to say it is such a relief, as that's truly the only sport I really participate in, other than walking as exercise, which I don't do nearly enough!  I would say the broken arm is just about back, I have a hard time putting weight fully on it, with my hand perpendicular to my arm, so I'm not ready for push ups, but most other things are pack to normal! (Push ups really haven't been normal for me anyway!)

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving in the US, so that was nice getting together with family for lots of food and visiting! Having a long weekend has been great too!

This coming Friday my husband and I will be attending another author talk, hosted by our local Rainy Day Books, and it will be astronaut Scott Kelly, discussing his book Endurance.  I can't wait, I think it will be so exciting!

Reviews:

I should have had a review for Artemis by Andy Weir.  Unfortunately, I DNF'd it about a quarter of the way through because I had real issues with the main character, with how he presented her in relation to our current social/political climate, I just felt that he made bad choices.  Here is a link to my Goodreads opinion if you are interested.  Artemis review

I was also supposed to have reviewed The Upside of Unrequited for My TBR List's November choice, but I just couldn't get into it, through no fault of the book, it was just too teen and too contemporary, and too cute boys and girls and worried about dating and how they looked, which is exactly what it says it was, but it just wasn't for me right now.  I don't want to relive those days, even vicariously, nope!



Features (otherwise known as ALL THE VOTING!):

Polls:
 
I've started a poll feature to last from now until the end of the year where you will help me pick what my best reads were!  Each week I will have a poll that lists the books I read in a particular month for you to vote what my best read that month was.  At the end of the year, I will run those 12 in a poll against each other, and when we have a winner I will host a giveaway for that book!

Even if you haven't read any of them, please vote on the one that interests you the most!

I have posted the results for January - May voting here: January - May 2017 Best Read Results

And have opened the June poll here: Best Read of June 2017 Poll

June has a tough choice with 3 books I would be hard pressed to decide between, as they've all been popular and important in different ways.  I'm really interested to see how that turns out!

Please Vote! 

The Polls for My Best Reads for the months I'm behind.


A Review for A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole - coming out 11/28/17

Received through subscription boxes (Uppercase, Owlcrate and Pagehabit):

Physical books I bought: None since last time. 

Kindle deals, freebies and Prime checkouts (which may or may not still be freebies or on sale):



Netgalley Approvals: Nothing new since last time



Library Books:

My Best Read of June 2017 - A Poll Off

It's always hard to decide what the best books you've read in a year are.  We can look at our ratings, but those may change depending on our mood. It's really hard to compare some of those books against each other, especially when you've read them months apart, or they are on completely different subjects.

I'm going to have a friendly competition between the books I've read this year and see what YOU think was my best read in 2017.  I'm going to post a poll for each month of the year, with the books I've read in one list for you to vote on, so that by the end of the year, I'll have 12 books for a final poll to decide what the best book I've read this year was, according to you! There may even be a giveaway at the end!

Starting the first week of October, I will post a month's worth of books every week to be voted on, with the winner for that week going on the final list.

Here are the books I read in June, covers and links to Goodreads will be below the poll itself so you don't have to scroll if you already know your answer!  It's okay if you haven't read any of them, just pick the one that sounds the most appealing to you!

Update: I got a little behind on making polls, and there will be a giveaway at the end, so if you haven't read any of these, please still vote for the one that interests you the most. Chaos voting is okay! ;)

Create your own user feedback survey

When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams	Binti by Nnedi Okorafor	The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard	The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas	Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
	The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

2017 Best Read Poll Off - Where we are so far

I've held polls so far for January through May to have you help me decide what my best read of the year is, then to have a giveaway for that book.  Here are the standings so far:

January - Vicious by V. E. Schwab
February - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
March - Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
April - Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
May - The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin

We still have June through December to get through and I'm a few weeks behind, but we'll get there!  So keep on the lookout and keep voting for me! I'm enjoying the process! I can't say that I'm surprised by the outcomes so far, but some of them are tough choices between great books, so I can't wait to see where we end up for my best read of the year!

June and July are coming soon!  Hopefully this weekend!

My TBR List - November - The Upside of Unrequited - a not review

Book Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful. Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back. There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

This sounded really cute, but I just couldn't get into it right now, it was too much OMG cute boys, and so many crushes but never acting on them for me right now, which is exactly what it is supposed to be.  The problem for me on this one is that I don't want to live any of those things again, so I've put it aside to try some other time maybe, or maybe not.  It's all me, no reflection on the book. Hopefully I'll have better luck in December!

My Best Reads of May 2017 - a Poll Off

It's always hard to decide what the best books you've read in a year are.  We can look at our ratings, but those may change depending on our mood. It's really hard to compare some of those books against each other, especially when you've read them months apart, or they are on completely different subjects.

I'm going to have a friendly competition between the books I've read this year and see what YOU think was my best read in 2017.  I'm going to post a poll for each month of the year, with the books I've read in one list for you to vote on, so that by the end of the year, I'll have 12 books for a final poll to decide what the best book I've read this year was, according to you! There may even be a giveaway at the end!

Starting the first week of October, I will post a month's worth of books every week to be voted on, with the winner for that week going on the final list.

Here are the books I read in May, covers and links to Goodreads will be below the poll itself so you don't have to scroll if you already know your answer!  It's okay if you haven't read any of them, just pick the one that sounds the most appealing to you!

Update: I got a little behind on making polls, and there will be a giveaway at the end, so if you haven't read any of these, please still vote for the one that interests you the most. Chaos voting is okay! ;)
Create your own user feedback survey

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin	Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman	Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
The Ghost and Mrs. McClure by Alice Kimberly	The Last Colony by John Scalzi	A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess
	You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson