2016 Goals and Series Wrap Ups

I had great plans for 2015 but with so much happening last year, my reading fell to the side. Still, I'm excited to get a ton of reading done this year and hopefully I'll reach my goal this time.

My goal for 2016 is to read at least 50 books. They have to be over 100 pages to count as one book and manga will only be counted once. So, I will use one volume to represent having read the entire manga series instead of counting each volume as a separate book. I started reading manga in Japanese so that is why I am adding manga this year. These are my personal rules.

Aside from just reading 50 books this year, I also really need to finish some series that I started. I want to buy new books but I cannot justify doing so without finishing these ones first. I'm going to power read through the YA books on that list in the beginning of the year.

 

Those are my plans for the year so far. What's going on with you? Any book/reading plans for 2016?

The Selection to be Made into a Movie

Another YA book series is getting a movie adaptation. This time it is "The Selection" by Kiera Cass!

I'm pretty excited for this movie adaptation because it gives me a reason to start reading this series now. I've had The Selection on my wishlist for a while but have not yet gotten around to reading the series.

The Selection follows America Singer who is selected along with thirty-four other girls to have the chance to marry Prince Maxon. The plot sounds sort of like The Bachelor done in a YA style. America does not even want to be a part of the competition to marry the prince though. She's in love with Aspen but he's of a lower status than her so she must take part in the Selection.

This is a five part book series and the final part comes out May 3, 2016. It will probably get at least six movies if the first does well. After all, they have to stretch the final book into two movies as that seems to be the trend now.

Cass said in an interview with Yahoo that she is happy with the script. "I have read the first draft of the script and I'm very happy with the direction they're heading in." She went on to say "We had a long conversation about the story and points that we thought fans would consider must-haves."

So if Cass is happy with the direction that the film is going in, fans who liked the book will probably be happy with it too. Authors don't usually actually have any real or deeper involvement with writing the script or any other part of making the film.

Judging by the reviews on goodreads it seems like people either love or hate the book but nothing in between. So, have you read The Selection? Did you love it or hate it?

The Chosen One Review

Title: The Chosen One
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Buy It At: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Chosen One is a story about a young, teen girl named Kyra who lives in a compound run by a religious cult leader. She is only thirteen years old when the cult leader comes to her father and tells him that God has chosen for her to marry her Uncle and become one of his many wives. Despite no one being happy with the match, no one will help Kyra escape and the marriage cannot be stopped. Kyra makes the life changing decision to break out of the compound and gain her freedom.

The Chosen One is obviously a take on the FLDS cult though the book does not outright state the religion of the characters.

Kyra's story might be fictional but the issues she faced are very real and do happen to many young girls living in the FLDS compounds. This is a world where women have no choices when it comes to anything and must always "be sweet" so they don't upset the men. The Chosen One gives readers a brief glimpse into what such a life is like for a teenage girl. All Kyra wants is to spent time with the boy she likes, read books and play the piano. Instead, she must prepare to marry a man more than twice her age and get ready to become a wife and bare children.

This is a young adult novel so the story is easier to read and does not go into a lot of details compared to FLDS Mormon and polygamy books aimed at adults. So, while we know Kyra's story it is just one girl's story. The book does not give a lot of details about the cult, community or living situations of other members on the compound because this is just Kyra's story.

Still, I personally think it was better that the book focused on one girl's story instead of trying to cover a wide range of topics. Especially because this is a young adult book.

While I absolutely loved the story, some of the writing was a little off putting to me. At times the writing style tried to be too pose-like for my taste.

The Chosen One was a very interesting and captivating read. You cannot help but hope and cheer for Kyra as she struggles with wanting to escape the marriage (which means leaving the compound, her family and the only life she has ever known).

Rating: 4 out of 5

The History Book Club Read-a-Thon: April

The History Book Club on goodreads is having another read-a-thon this month. The date for April is the 25th. The rules say that you can read whatever you like but in the spirit of the group, I am going to try to stick with books set in the past, historical fiction/YA, nonfiction books about history or current events. Below is a list of books I currently have that I can choose to read during this and future read-a-thons in this group. There are five more read-a-thons scheduled for this year so no worries if I don't get to all my books on the 25th.

My goal is to read at least 20 Books by the last read-a-thon.

Obviously I am not going to write post reviews here for non-YA books, but I wanted to make this post to organize my read-a-thon plans and to invite everyone reading this to join us. 

Non-Fiction Books

Winner Take All by Dambisa Moyo
Religio Romana Handbook by Lucius Vitellius Triarius
Meditations on the Roman Deities by Lucius Vitellius Triarius
Temple of the Cosmos by Jeremy Naydler
Dancing for Hathor by Carolyn Graves-Brown
Dreaming in Hindi by Katherine Rich
The Three Empresses by Philip Longworth
Finding God: Selected Responses by Rifat Sonsino
Without You There is No Us by Suki Kim
Dear Leader by Jang Jin-Sung

Historical Fiction and Young Adult Books (list needs to be updated)


Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine

Historical Romances

The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall
Athenais by Lisa Hilton
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah McLean
Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennet
A Lilly Among Thorns by Rose Lerner
Britannia by Letitia Coyne

Sweet Peril Review

Title: Sweet Peril Review (The Sweet Trilogy #2)
Author: Wendy Higgins
Get the Book: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

I finally got around to finishing Sweet Peril. To be honest, I was not feeling this book as much as I was the first book and I really enjoyed the first book. A lot of other readers and reviewers are saying they loved the second book and that it even blow the first book away. That wasn't really the case with me. I am still not sure if I am going to pick up the third book or not.

Sweet Peril picks up where Sweet Evil left off. Kai and Anna have broken up and now Anna has to put together a team of Nephs in order to stop the demons and end things once in for all.

I think one of the reasons why I was not as into this book as I was the first book is because the whole book was Anna getting allies and putting together a team. It was all preparation. The book started to get interesting again towards the end though. Sure, it was interesting to read about Anna and Kope going to Syria to meet Z, and I did enjoy reading the book overall, but the rest was not as exciting.

Anna spends some time talking with her dad and getting a cool sword. Anna is pretty accepting and trusting of her dad despite the fact that he was never in her life. I mean, it makes sense that he was never in her life because otherwise he would have had to corrupt her from the beginning, but Anna is way for accepting, trusting and forgiving than I would have been in her situation.

Anna also graduates from high school in this book! I did not really care for the fluffiness of Anna graduating. Patti actually started to annoy me a lot during this part of the book. She is just too good and nice. Dial it down a notch, Patti.

I really did not care at all for the love triangle between Anna, Kope and Kai either. We all know Anna will end up with Kai in the end. Speaking of Kai and Anna...

There was a very steamy scene between Anna and Kai near the end of the book. My first thought while reading it was "I thought this was more of a Christian YA!" Of course, nothing actually happened but it was unexpected.

Overall, I did enjoy the book but I was not in love with it like I was the first book.

Rating: 3 our of 3

Unplugged Review

Title: Unplugged
Author: P.D. Quaver

Unplugged is a young adult ebook about what would happen if teenagers had to live without their modern devices and social media. A group of teenagers are sent to partake in "The Natural Path" - a program that aims to help teens addicted to their the internet and their devices run by Dr. Zarkov. However the program turns out to be something more - a kidnapping! Trapped on a remote island without any way to contact their parents or the outside world, the group of teens have to learn to band together to first survive then defeat their kidnappers.

The book is recommend for teens 13 or older. There were a couple (hilarious) of illustrations in the book which usually places a book for a pre-teen or younger audience. Still, I think those in their teens might also enjoy this book for the story.

Instead of partaking in a program that is meant to help them, the teens find themselves part of a kidnapping. They are being held for ransom. However, none of the teens are going to just sit back and let Dr. Zarkov and his crew use them. It is hard for them at first to not be able to use technology but by coming together and building a friendship, they learn to survive and win.

The story has interesting characters each with their own personality who all have to learn to come together if they want to survive. The story not only deals with the issues of teens being on their modern devices too much but also touches on themes of friendship and family. The book does all of this while taking place in a thriller styled life-and-death situation plot. The plot adds a lot of interest and excitement to the story.

Each character has their own problem that they are dealing with which play a role into why they were sent to the island to begin with. By the end of the book, through all the challenges, each teen has grown a lot. Throughout the book you end up cheering for the teens not just to survive the island but to overcome their own problems so it is really nice to see the teens go through a lot of character growth.

Overall, the story was interesting and fast-paced enough once the kidnapping plot got going that I would recommend this book to young teens.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Fever The Chemical Garden #2 Book Review

Title: Fever (The Chemical Garden #2)
Author: Lauren DeStefano

I enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed the first book and, once again, the author got me at the end and now I need to get the third book to see how the story ends.

The beginning of the book was interesting and I enjoyed reading it but I did not really come to care for any of the new characters that were introduced. Especially since they are only there at the beginning of the book. The second book in the Chemical Garden trilogy starts off with Rhine (and Gabriel) waking up at what looks like a carnival but is really a place of prostitution. The two manage to escape from the "carnival" and start heading to New York to try and find Rhine's brother.

Of course, the evil Vaughn is still chasing after Rhine and will stop at nothing to get her back to the mansion.

The book does a great job continuing to paint the world that Rhine and the others now live in. Rhine remembers growing up with her brother, and while it was not glamorous or secure by any means, she had freedom compared to the brief time she was forced to spend in Vaughn's home. However, with freedom came a lot of danger and while she was under lock and key in the house, Vaughn did provide her with safety. Of course, he's still evil what with the creepy secret lab and what-not.

I'm glad that the author showed us a little more of the world. The first book was focused more on Rhine's new life in the big house with Linden and Rhine's sisterwives so while we knew a bit about the world we did not really get to see it.

There were some parts of the book that dragged on a bit and I still don't care for either of Rhine's love interests, but I did enjoy the book overall and I must get the third book now just to see how things end.

Rating: 4 out of 4

The Monsterjunkies An American Family Odyssey Book 1 Review

Title: The Monsterjunkies An American Family Odyssey: "Being a normal Family is a State of Mind" (Book One 1)
Author: Erik Daniel Shein and Theresa A. Gates

Another e-book! I like supporting indie and self-published authors which is why I have decided to review such books on this blog. I will be getting back to reviewing mainstream books alongside e-books soon though. But for now, let's review The Monsterjunkies Book 1!

The story takes place in Maine so as I New Englander I have to support it just based on that. Kidding! But seriously, I did enjoy this book. The story is about a group of teenagers who live at Monsterjunkie Manor and with a name like that you have to expect monsters to be involved. The manor is home to not just the teenagers but also all sorts of magical creatures. Of course, while this can be a alot of fun it is also difficult growing up in such a different home and being bullied for being different.

That's really the main themes of the story: Learning to stop hiding and not being afraid to show who you are. The Monsterjunkies teens have had to wear masks their entire lives growing up but, as the authors put it, "It is the people who take off their masks and show the real person inside who truly find meaning in their lives." This theme of masks hiding one's true self and learning to remove said masks plays throughout the book. But just like how the Monsterjunkies kids are really not spooky, there are others who hide behind a mask of goodness when they are anything but good.

The actual story focuses on two teens, Crow and Indigo, who live at the manor. Everyone at school knows where they live and the two face a lot of bullying as a result. They are assumed to be creepy people just because they live in a house with a reputation for being spooky and full of monsters. It is not just the kids at school that pick on Crow and Indigo, but the adults do so as well which I liked seeing in the book because we often overlook that sometimes adults are also the problem.

The Monsterjunkies falls under a new genre called YA Visionary Fiction which basically means that the book deals with real issues, such as social issues and bullying, with a bit of magic and esoteric wisdom. Throughout the story the authors touche on the theme of bullying through creating a fantasy world filled with strange and interesting monsters.

The monsters add a little fun element to the story that I feel really helps to add to not only the message of the story but also the creativity and fun of the story. The plot is actually well developed and the characters are great. I really felt like the characters were representative of real teens facing real problems. Crow and Indigo, while siblings dealing with the same problem, both have different takes, feelings and experiences related to being bullied.

This is a great book for any teen feeling bullied and also likes monsters and more gothic-esque things. Of course, it is also just a good book for anyone to read.

Rating: 5 out of 5

George Knows Review

Title: George Knows
Author: Mindy Mymudes

When a magical basset hound, George, meets 12 year old greenwitch Karly, he takes it upon himself to protect and train her. The two soon get caught up in a murder investigation though, which they then have to solve. And how does saving the park fit into all of this?

I love stories involving magic and witches. One of my favorite thing about kids' books is how there's a lot of room to play around with fantasy elements like magic and guardian basset hounds. I also love how there's also plenty of room to create magical worlds within our own mundane world.

George Knows is written from the point of view of a basset hound named George. In my opinion, this makes the story fun in a lot of different ways. George sort of sees himself as Karly's teacher yet he cannot always easily communicate with her which makes training her at times both frustrating for George and funny for the reader.

George Knows is a fun kid's story filled with magic, adventure and mystery. It is also a very well written and engaging story. Even as an adult I found the story to be gripping and engaging. The characters are well developed and consistent, and the plot is interesting and attention holding throughout the entire book. I would recommend this book for grade school kids. I know I would have loved when I was younger!

You can find this book online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books and itunes.

Rating: 5 our of 5

James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra Review

Title: James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra
Author: Colm McElwain

James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra is about a young boy named James who has been surrounded by mystery since he was born. One day, while he visits his grandfather's house, he is given the mysterious Diamond of Orchestra. The dimond changed his life and threw James and his friends Ben and Mary into a wild adventure. James ends up finding out about his mysterious birth and just what exactly it means for him.

This book is great for preteens (middle grade students) and young adults but given how fun the story is, I'm sure most people at any age would enjoy this book.

James' story and adventure was so fun to read. The story itself is a blend of fantasy and adventure. The writing is great and the author really succeeded at created a rich world and story for the book. The characterization of James, Ben and Mary was also well done in my opinion, The characters felt real and strong.

I just really enjoyed reading James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra. I cannot really find anything bad to say about it especially as a middle grade reader.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Learn To Tie A Tie With The Rabbit And The Fox Review

Title: Learn To Tie A Tie With The Rabbit And The Fox
Author: Sybrina Durant (@Sybrina_spt)

What an adorable idea for a book! This book is to teach children how to tie a tie and uses a story of a rabbit and a fox to teach that. The story makes learning and remember how to tie a tie easy for a child. It is also a very cute and fun story.

The story is basically about a rabbit being chased by a fox. As you read the story and see how the rabbit runs away or evades the fox, you also learn how to tie a tie. Each page has the story part and the tie instruction part. The book is very cohesive though because the story is reflected and shown in the tie instruction part. This book does a great job connecting the story to the instructions.

I really love how the tie instructions are tied in (get it?! ha!) with the story. It is a very creative way of weaving the two functions of the book together. Whatever the rabbit does in the story relates to a step in the tie instructions. It is a very clever and great way to teach a child how to tie a tie! The story also helps a child remember the steps to tying their tie.

But it is not just the pictures and the instructions that make this book great and easy for a child to learn from. There is also a fun song that goes with the book! You can listen to the song for free here. Be careful though. The song might end up stuck in your head!

One of my favorite things about children's books is the art which is why I also write at least a little bit about it in my reviews. The art in Learn To Tie A Tie With The Rabbit And The Fox is so cute. But it is more than just cute. The illustrations also act as a visual guide for each step in tying the tie. This is very helpful to the more visual reader and learner.

If you need to teach your son (or daughter) how to tie a tie, this is a great book for just that! The story is fun and helps a child learn to and remember how to tie a tie. It can even help an adult. I mean, it did teach me how to tie a tie too!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tale of Running Bear Review

Title: Tale of Running Bear, A Picture Book for Adult-Minded Young People
Author: Elaine J. Keller

A lot of people might pass up this book based on the cover but you really shouldn't. The artwork inside of the book is actually pretty beautiful. There were a few drawings that had me stop reading to look at the picture for a little bit. The art was not the only thing I liked about Tale of Running Bear. The story, while easy to read, was very thought provoking. The book has you reflecting on themes of the power of belief and how humans are harming wildlife and nature.

The actual text in the book is more geared towards an adult mind. There's actually something in it for adults to read this book. I actually like that the book is easy to read ans simple but also has a message for adults because we don't always have to read 300 pages of text (even wonderfully written text) to get something meaningful out of a story. In some places the text is not really suited for very little children though.

Children can read this book though. I would recommend that you read through the book first before letting your child read it because the book presents several themes that you might want to have a discussion with your child about. One such theme is the power of belief and how it can be used to create fear.

My favorite thing about this book, besides the art, is that it teaches about how nature is all around us and we should do more to respect and be kind to nature. Tale of Running Bear does not teach this in a condescending way though. Instead, this message of caring for nature is shared throughout the book in a very nice and meditative way. I also loved the message of universal love at the end. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

For the price and the content I would easily give this a 5.

Room by Emma Donoghue The Movie

Room by Emma Donoghue is being made into a movie. The author, Donoghue, herself will be joining in on writing the script while Lenny Abrahamson will be the director. The book is very powerful with a disturbing plot based on real life events. Still no word on the actors yet because writing and everything else for the movie is still underway. You can read a little more information about the upcoming movie here.

The Iron Daughter Review

Title: The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2)
Author: Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter is the second book in The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. I absolutely loved the first book in this series so I was excited to finally get the second book and start reading it.

The first book ended with the defeat and death of the Iron King. So what else could go wrong? Well, it seems like that even thought the Iron King was defeated, the Iron Fey are still around and they have a new leader! Before the iron fey come back though, there is some court drama between Meghan and Mab, the Queen of the Winter court. The drama basically revolves around Winter-Summer fey drama and Meghan's feelings for Prince Ash. It is forbidden for a fey from the Winter Court to be with a fey from the Summer Court so this gives us a little tragic Romeo-Juliet esque story.

In this book, Meghan and the gang have to leave the fey world and make a trip to Earth. To be honest, while this was a nice break from fey world drama, I found myself skipping some parts here; namely the prom scene.

Really though, the fey court drama and the fight with the new foe, iron fey, are my favorite parts of this series. I don't care about Meghan's school drama. :p

Another interesting thing that happened in The Iron Daughter is that we learn about Puck's feelings and thus the love triangle is introduced! I have to say though, although the love triangle plot device is overused in YA literature, I think it works with the Iron Fey series. It makes sense and I do not feel like Puck's feelings are so out of place that they are completely unrealistic. They were friends for a while and he spent enough time around her to maybe develop feelings.

I am still not a fan of Ash and would much rather see Meghan with Puck or no one. Ash treated her like crap throughout the whole book until the end and even in the end he is not that nice and loving. He gets jealous over some guy at Meghan's high school trying to flirt with her. I just don't see the appeal in a guy who is a jerk to you then gets jealous at everything. He's not worth it, Meghan!

Ironhorse and Grim are still the best characters though. but I think Ironhorse needs to go to a day spa and learn to relax! He keeps yelling (ALL CAPS).

Over all, I loved this book and was not disappointed. The writing flows together nicely and there was no part in the book where I felt like things were dragging on so much that it made me want to put the book down. Also, the cover art is still so beautiful.

Rating: 5/5 Chocolate Bars

Private School Blogger: I need my iPhone Review

Title: Private School Blogger: I need my iPhone
Author: Sam Lyons

Matthew Chumsley is a typical kid. He enjoys playing video games like minecraft and hanging out on the computer. When Matthew starts going to a new private school everything about his new school life is scary and intimidating for him. He would much rather go back to his video games than try to fit in at the new school. But when the tech loving Matthew decides to start a blog about his life and school and a gamer club, he finds that making new friends and school is not so difficult or scary after all.

This is a very good book for any video game loving kid. Private School Blogger: I need my iPhone is a great book for a kid who prefers spending time on the computer compared to reading because it makes a fun connection between writing/reading and gaming/the computer for kids. Matthew, the main character, decides to start a blog about his experiences at his new private school and soon finds that his classmates enjoy reading and commenting on his blog. Through his blog he is able to make friends at his new school. This is a great way to help kids learn how to make friends and have fun at a new school through blogging and video games.

Also, I love the idea of having a class minecraft game-time every week. Some schools really have this too and I've only heard positive things minecraft classes. If anyone is interested in this, there is a pretty interesting blog by a teacher who uses minecraft in his classroom.

The drawings throughout the book are nice too and dfiently give off a Diary of a Wimpy Kid vibe. If you or your kid are a fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid then you will love Private School Blogger. Instead of a diary though, Private School Blogger is written in the style of a blog by Matthew and you get to read 'blog comments' from other kids. I thought that interaction between the characters was a very nice touch.

Another thing I liked about this book is that sometimes riddles were included in some of the blog posts. I think that is great for kids because it will get them to think by trying to figure out the riddle and also because riddles are just fun. ;)

The description of the Gamestop employee was spot on. Ha!

Lyson is able to write a relatable book for kids, Any kid reading Private School Blogger will be able to instantly relate to everything from Matthew's love of video games to bad school cafeteria food. Even I as an adult loved reading Private School Blogger. There are a lot of funny moments in the book too. This is a great book that the more dorky and tech loving kids will really enjoy reading.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Glasses of Strawberry Milk

Reading Update

I have finally got around to starting Iron Daughter, the second book in the Iron Fey series. I'm a bit behind on this series. :p I have to say though, I don't know why I put this book off for so long. Once I started reading I did not want to put it down. The book itself is pretty easy to read because it is not boring and the writing flows nicely.

I also started reading the second book in the Chemical Garden series. This one has not been as easy to get back into though. I just don't really care about this circus thing that is happening now.

Also, I was given a review copy of the book Private School Blogger: I need my iPhone so I will be typing up a review for that this afternoon.This book is said to have a Diary of a Wimpy Kid series style to it so fans of that series, check this book out.

The Lavender Herbal Review

Title: The Lavender Herbal: An Introduction Into Basic Herbal Medicine for the Budding Herbalist
Author: Sandra Glenn

This is a very good book for beginner herbalists or anyone who has an interest in herbalism and does not know how to get started. I'm already a bit of a gardener but now my interest in this area has grown and I'm excited to keep reading more about herbalism.

This book was a great introduction. It provides an overview and tips on choosing herbs, how to store herbs, the different types of remedies used among herbalists, safety concerns and more. I'm especially happy that there were warnings and safety tips throughout the book.

I decided to get the paperback version of the book, and I was worried at first because it felt thin but there is a lot of useful information in the book. I'm a bit disappointed in B&N though because when I got the book, the cover was slightly bent.

This book won't tell you everything there is to know about herbalism but it can provide you with a starting point. There's also a helpful list in the back of books and website to check out for farther information.

New Books

Yes! My books from amazon have arrived! I'm so excited. I'm just waiting for a couple from B&N now.

I've been dying to continue reading The Iron Fey and The Chemical Garden series. I'm on The Iron Daughter and Fever respectfully. Which one should I read first? I can't decide now. I also got a couple of non-fiction books because they were on sale and on my wishlist.

Tell Us We're Home Review

Title: Tell Us We're Home
Author: Marina Budhos

Tell Us We're Home is a story about three daughters of immigrant parents.

I picked this book up because I got it for a really good price, the cover is so pretty and the story sounded interesting.

To me, a lot of scenes in this young adult book gave me Lifetime Movie vibes. Now, I love Lifetime network movies but I did not enjoy reading this book. The relationship between the girls and the other characters at times felt a little fake or over the top.

A big part of the book is about class and race/immigration and understandably so. There were some interesting parts of the book that touched on these topics in a way that teenagers could relate to by presenting typical teen problems (dating, friendship, etc.) but also putting them in the context of also being a child of an immigrant. The parts about assimilation versus being afraid of losing your heritage in the process were also interesting to read.

Overall, I think this book does a good job in some areas but it just did not capture or hold my attention.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Chocolate Bars

Wither Review

Title: Wither (The Chemical Garden 1)
Author: Lauren DeStefano

In DeStefano's world, all of the countries except for the USA have been destroyed and now girls die at age 20 and boys die at age 25 all thanks to genetic engineering and science. This means that young girls are getting married in their teens and some are even kidnapped and forced into marriage. Usually, the young guy ends up marrying more than one girl too which leads to some potentially interesting sister wives drama and friendship.

This is exactly what happened to our main character, Rhine. She gets kidnapped and finds herself in a marriage along with two other young girls where she is expected to produce children until the whole dying at 20/25 thing is fixed. Rhine does not like it in her new home though.

I really enjoyed reading Wither. I love the concept and the relationship that comes from being forced into not only an unwanted marriage but a plural marriage. However, even though I was looking forward to seeing the sister wives dynamic play out among the family, I found it to be a little bit boring in this book. Of course, that was not the main focus of the book but it would have been nice to see more of the girls' relationships with each other and have them help each other out more than just the typical two boys-one girl love triangle.

I also really liked the whole concept for the dystopian world but some things did not make too much sense. North America being the only surviving country while all the other countries in the world are underwater really made no sense to me. There were some other little things that made this world less than believable. I really would have loved to see this dystopian world fleshed out more.

The writing was very beautiful to read though. For that reason alone (also, I do overall like the story), I will pick up the second book. I also enjoyed Rhine's character. I want to see her develop more in the next books though. I did not care for either of the guy characters and potential love interests. Especially Linden the sexy, rich husband.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Chocolate Bars