Review: Mountain of Fire by Rebecca E.F. Barone

Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E.F. Barone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

This is a narrative non fiction describing the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. The author interviewed numerous witnesses and survivors of this event to be able to write this short but powerful story about a true event. When Mount St. Helens stated having earthquakes in April 1980, scientists, reporters, and tourists all rushed to the site to see what would happen. Many thought it would be safe and nothing would erupt. Others were treading lightly with information saying it was possible the mountain could erupt, but couldn't give any detailed information. This eruption was the first of is kind with a rare timeline of events that couldn't be predicted. If the technology today was available in 1980, more information could have been discovered. 

This very short book has a lot of information provided in a way that can be easily read like a story but also gives great information on how this time frame passed for the people who were involved in this natural disaster. I didn't really know a lot about this event so it was nice to learn some history while also feeling the emotions of the survivors. 

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Review: Dreamslinger by Graci Kim

Dreamslinger by Graci Kim
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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Aria lives in a world where nightmares can leave magic inside of you unless you release the build up once she wakes up. This is magic that she has feared for the last 3 years when she discovered she had it at age 13. But when the royal family opened up a competition to allow anyone to come to their kingdom and see if they can find a dreamcompanion and live in their society, Ariana thought this would be a good way to spy on their world and report back to her father, who wants to contain people with magic to make the world a safer place. 

But once Aria arrived in this new world, she realized that her father's way may NOT be the only way to live her life. Here she is accepted for her magic and dreams. Here she can learn to control the magic and not be scared to hurt someone. And she found new friends and got her own dreamcompanion, Rio, her unique tailed dragon. 

Now Aria is trying to find all the answers to what happened 10 years ago with the Battle that killed her mom, the secrets of the royal family, and the untold lore of how the magic came to be, all while trying to stay in the competition and be the top 20 that passes, and find a way to still help her father, even when her feelings are becoming conflicting... And the answers that she discovers changes everything she thought she knew her entire life. 

With the help of her new friends Tui and Lion, Aria is slowly learning to trust her heart and make the right decisions for her future and the future of their world. 

I honestly thought i would like this more than I did. Fantasy is right up my alley. I think i struggled the most because there were so many words and terms that were unfamiliar to me. So many dream___ that distracted me. Just a lot of unknowns that brought me out of the story and made me ho "what?". I think Aria definitely grew as a person throughout this book. She had a lot of growing up to do in a very short amount of time. I was proud her her reasoning at the end of the book. But I'm not going to read the next novel because my brain might explode trying to keep up with everything to remember again. 

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Review: The Right Call by Tommy Greenwald

The Right Call: A Game Changer Companion Novel by Tommy Greenwald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read for Battle 27

This book is more than sports and baseball, surprisingly. This is about a 15 year old baseball superstar going through a lot of emotional decisions about his sport, his family and his life. The entire novel is told only through text messages, transcriptions, and announcements that explain what Cal Klondike is going through during a pivotal moment in his baseball career as a high school student. This story also goes into depth in how one bad moment and one good moment should not define a person as a whole. 

Cal's dad got too involved in the idea that Cal is talented enough to play in pro baseball in his near future. Cal grew as a great pitcher overnight and once that happened, so many changes happened for the Klondikes. Going to a specific school to improve his talent. Having scouts, college recruiters, and even professional team recruiters come to games to watch his games. 

But the biggest change was attacking the manager or umpire for calls that were made not to his dad's liking. Arguments, yelling matches. Embarrassing moments. Moments that distracted Cal from playing the sport that he loves. Moments that made Cal not love the sport he used to love. 

I didn't think I'd like this format of a book, but I was actually very invested. And the message was really great. I loved how Cal had his guidance counselor and how he reached out to the umpire, discovering a whole new person than the umpire he thought he knew. Very glad i read this. 

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Review: Good Girl Exception by Maren Moore

Good Girl Exception by Maren Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maren moore always writes amazing romances filled with tension but also some really deep emotional battles for her characters. This book has both in spades and did not disappoint! 

Maisie is such a joy to read about. She literally has no bad bone in her body. Always wanting to help everyone and had such a great personality that makes everyone around her happy with her contagious perspective on life. But I loved how she met Wilder and how she decided to put her own wants first for once. Rather than letting her parents choices dictate her life. 

Wilder has so many past demons to work out. And Maisie is the perfect person to be next to him helping him through those nightmares. I love how polar opposite they are from each other because it makes them the perfect match. 

So glad I got the chance to read this book and I'm always looking forward to more from Maren Moore! 

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Review: The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen

The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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Living on Mars had always been talked about, but this book people actually do live on Mars. And dragons exist. Each planet and moon have their own dragons and some dragons have a crew of humans who ride on their dragons and protect their space (whether it be the moon or the planet the drain is in charge of).

Mars' dragon, Ares was killed by it's 2 moon dragons. After Ares died, the planet of Mars started to die. No plants or food can grow. Wild animals hunt humans. Pretty much the planet and humanity are going extinct. 

Lunar was born on Mars and only knows this dying planet. He scraps for metal and any other sources that had been buried to receive money and food for the people who live with him. On one of his hunts, he stumbles and finds a bunker where a dragon is being kept secret. And then gets chosen by that dragon, named Dread, to be the leader of his crew, the dragoon. 

Each crew can have up to 15 members, and there are 20 members who have been trained for 5+ years to be chosen on this crew. Proctor was sure she was going to be the dragoon and now has to accept she will not be the leader. And now the actual leader has zero military experience, but has instinct and bravery that Dread wanted.

While still training, Lunar gets thrust into another war where other dragons are trying to kill him, his crew, and his dragon Dread. Now they have to find allies and save Mars while he is still learning his role as dragoon and while his dragon is still learning, since he was only hatched less than 20 years ago. 

This was an interesting story. It was hard at first to get a grasp of this world but eventually I got used to it and just enjoyed the adventure that Lunar was on with his new mission with Dread. I won't be continuing the series but I'm sure more adventures will come up after the ending of this book. 

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Review: Edge of Obsession by Megan Crane

Edge of Obsession by Megan Crane
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was very intrigued by the synopsis. Dystopian Viking? How can this be? And overall the idea was good, but the writing style was not my favorite. It is a lot of observation and not as much dialogue. Large paragraphs really do get my eyes to wander too much and jump ahead to see if anything happens. 

I liked the connection between the two main characters, and the world is a unique setting, but overall, I just don't think this book was for me. Glad I read it though!

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Review: Across the Vanishing Sky by Catherine Cowles

Across the Vanishing Sky by Catherine Cowles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With this being my first Catherine Cowles book, I wasnt sure what to expect going in. But I'm glad I decided to read it because I was hooked! 

Braedyn is a great character. She is determined, focused and resourceful. She is not going to back down from anything and i love that quality about her. I love her connection with her son Owen. I absolutely freaking love that she got Yeti and trained her to be a search dog. And I love that she was determined to get answers about Nova, no matter the result, because she loves that human. 

Dexter is great. I love that he's a badass but also extremely nerdy. And how he connected with Owen over computers was really adorable. 

For once in my romance only reading lifestyle, I didn't care about the romance! I wanted to know who the unsub was. I wanted to know about Nova. I needed to know all of those things and got pretty nervous because I got so close to the end without those answers. Thankfully it all came rushing at the end and I got my answers, but I was pretty amped up that i would have to wait until book 2.

The Archer brothers are pretty awesome not gonna lie. Wylder, Kol, Orion, Dex and Maverick. All 5 are so different from each other, but they 100% have each other's back after what their serial killer father did. I can't imagine the trauma they have gone through, and are still going through. I'm glad they have Kols daughter, Skylar there and their Uncle Waylon.

I will absolutely be reading book 2 because I need to know more about those two characters. And I will need to read Orion's story to see him get his HEA after everything he's been through. Plus I gushed when he started opening up to Brae and how protective he became towards her. I know it will be even better when he's with the woman he falls for! 

Glad i dived into this book and can't wait for the rest of the series! 

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