May 2017 Wrap Up

1. A Court of Wings and Ruin, Sarah J. Maas  (A Court Of Thorns And Roses # 3) 5/5

“It's a rare person to face who they are and not run from it - not be broken by it.”

“When you erupt, girl, make sure it is felt across worlds.”

A nightmare, I’d told Tamlin. I was the nightmare.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit—and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords—and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

Once again I am amazed by Sarah J. Maas
Sarah has this amazing way of sucking you into a world and making you believe that that world is real. Her characters seem so real that you just want to follow them throughout the entire story. I don’t know if I ever obsessed over so many characters in one story. They’re all complex and have so much depth to their personalities and it’s wonderful. Her plot was amazing and obviously I can’t talk much about it without spoilers and I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. That being said this book was definitely an emotional rollercoaster. I wanted to skip forward and see the ending so effing bad. I kept my cool though and read all of the seven hundred and five pages. Did I keep my cool the entire time? Absolutely not. When I got to the ending my mind could not keep up with what I was reading. One thing would happen and then something else would happen a sentence later. Then something happened and I started screaming. I was physically crying and screaming because oh my god. Maybe I’m over dramatizing it but it was traumatizing. I had to put the book down because I thought I was going to explode.
Luckily, there are more books. They just aren’t from Feyre’s perspective which crushes my heart a little. Feyre is the perfect feminist heroine. We definitely need more heroines like her and I hope that authors follow in Sarah J. Maas footsteps and make more main characters who do not need a man to save them.
I am so excited to see where this story goes and I can’t wait to see who the next main character is for this series.

2.  Stalking Jack The Ripper, Kerri Maniscalco (Stalking Jack The Ripper #1) 4/5

“I was determined to be both pretty and fierce, as Mother had said I could be. Just because I was interested in a man’s job didn’t mean I had to give up being girly. Who defined those roles anyhow?”

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

I definitely did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I do not read horror books because there is nothing I hate more than being scared. I could not put this book down and I wish that I could have read it in one day but I was not about to read any of this book at night. I have found that I love gothic literature. It is so dramatic and perfect. I loved how the author incorporated the mystery, creepiness and a little bit of romance in the story. I also loved the feminist heroine, I love that authors are making that a thing now. Thank you God. 

The ending was little idealistic but I’m okay with that. At least I was shocked by who the murderer was. I also love that this is becoming a series 

 3. The Secrets of Flight, Maggie Leffler 3.75/5

“So many promises and hopes I had for myself were wrapped up in tomorrow, and the greatest loss of all was not having more to look forward to.”

Estranged from her family since just after World War II, Mary Browning has spent her entire adult life hiding from her past. Now eighty-seven years old and a widow, she is still haunted by secrets and fading memories of the family she left behind. Her one outlet is the writing group she’s presided over for a decade, though she’s never written a word herself. When a new member walks in—a fifteen-year-old girl who reminds her so much of her beloved sister Sarah—Mary is certain fate delivered Elyse Strickler to her for a reason.

Mary hires the serious-eyed teenager to type her story about a daring female pilot who, during World War II, left home for the sky and gambled everything for her dreams—including her own identity.   

As they begin to unravel the web of Mary’s past, Mary and Elyse form an unlikely friendship. Together they discover it’s never too late for second chances and that sometimes forgiveness is all it takes for life to take flight in the most unexpected ways.

After the first two books that I read this one was little bit disappointing. Someone had said that I would like this book if I had read Outlander. The only way this book is like Outlander is because it’s somewhat historical fiction. This book could have gone way more in depth in the historical fiction aspect. I would have loved to learn more about women fighting to fight along the men and to join the Airforce. I didn’t really come to care about either of the main characters. There didn’t seem to be any depth to them. Did they have complicated stories? Yes. Did they have much personality? No. Frankly, some of the side characters were more interesting than the main characters. I would have loved to known more about the women the Mary flew with.

4. Shoot Like A Girl, Mary Jennings Hegar 5/5

“Despite the occasional backlash, I’ll continue to speak on this topic until people stop assuming that this debate is about whether or not to allow women into combat. Women are already fighting in combat with or without anyone’s permission, and they’re doing so valiantly. What they aren’t doing is being trained alongside their comrades-in-arms, given credit for doing the same jobs as their counterparts, given promotions to jobs overseeing combat operations, or being treated like combat veterans by people back home (even some in the Veterans Administration). Not every man has the skill set or warrior spirit for combat. Not every woman does, either. But everyone that does have that skill set should be afforded the opportunity to compete for jobs that enable them to serve in the way their heart calls them. For some people, that calling is in music or art. Some are natural teachers. There are those who will save lives with science. I was called to be a warrior and to fly and fight for my country. I was afforded the opportunity to answer that call, and because of that, I have lived a full and beautiful life. People will always be afraid of change. Just like when we integrated racially or opened up combat cockpits to women, there will always be those who are vocal in their opposition and their fear. History will do what it always does, however. It will make their ignorant statements, in retrospect, seem shortsighted and discriminatory, and the women who will serve their country bravely in the jobs that are now opening up will prove them wrong. Just like we always have.”

After being commissioned into the U.S. Air Force, MJ Hegar was selected for pilot training by the Air National Guard, finished at the top of her class, then served three tours in Afghanistan flying combat search and rescue missions, culminating in a harrowing rescue attempt that would earn MJ the Purple Heart as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device.

But it was on American soil that Hegar would embark on her greatest challenge—to eliminate the military’s Ground Combat Exclusion Policy, which kept female armed service members from officially serving in combat roles despite their long-standing record of doing so with honor.

In Shoot like A Girl, MJ takes the reader on a dramatic journey through her military career: an inspiring, humorous, and thrilling true story of a brave, high-spirited, and unforgettable woman who has spent much of her life ready to sacrifice everything for her country, her fellow man, and her sense of justice.

DFTBA

-AB