Running With Spears

Coral by Sara Ella is a poignant, emotionally gripping read.

It’s also an important one.

Mental Health still feels very underrepresented, even in the increasingly diverse array of young adult lit. Sara’s novel does a phenomenal job of weaving anxiety and depression, grief and emotional trauma into the story and treating them with care and respect. One of my favorite quotes is, “You are not nothing, my friend, and neither am I.” So beautiful.

The entire book is raw and real. And intriguing. I have an awful habit of forgetting about a book I’m reading halfway through for one reason or another. You CAN NOT do that with this, for your own good, lol. So much of the story falls into place at the end, like this perfect puzzle that you had to complete to be able to appreciate the glorious picture.

It was a five star read for me.

A huge thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the free advanced copy of the ebook for me to read.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young is poignant and beautiful. I loved every moment.

Some pieces of this story tugged me down into dreamland when I read it at night, which I’d never thought would be a compliment about a book, but it’s not that it was boring, (it wasn’t), but Adrienne’s cadence as she’s writing. There are places where the sentences are so lovely, so smooth-edged, that they were like a lullaby.

Of course, the story isn’t a gentle one. It’s a tale of warriors and bloodshed, but there’s also a strand of tenderness woven through it that was lovely, and even comforting . It’s a different story than Sky In the Deep (a favorite of mine, by the way) but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to fans of Adrienne’s heart-tugging, emotionally-gripping writing.

Also parts of the book gave me intense Muse of Nightmares vibes, and I feel like fans of that duology would enjoy this. It was absolutely a five star read.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a free advanced copy of this ebook.)

Hello lovelies. Here are some links you might find handy!

SUNNY VIBES PICS – 17 pre-taken spring/summer bookstagram-style stock photos for $25 (15% off with code SUNNY15 – through April 3rd)

Sign-up for my Newsletter – I’ll share tips on photography for social media, plus updates on life and writing.

My Blog: Running With Spears (this is where you are now, by the way) 😀

Cherry Pie Author Services: Social Media Pics – I’m teaming up with Cherry Pie to offer professional photos for your social media platforms! I love taking bookish pics, and using that passion to help other writers makes my heart sing!

OwlCrate Jr – book subscription box for middle grade readers that is an amazing resource for encouraging a love of reading! Use my code READWRITECOFFEE for a discount.

Solmate Socks – whimsically mismatched socks and accessories made from recycled cotton yarns; sustainably-sourced and eco-friendly!

Once Upon A Book Club – book subscription box with specially curated wrapped gifts you open as you read to bring books to life! Use my code READWRITECOFFEE10 for a discount.

Master Class – get $20 off (affiliate)

Hello Lovelies. Sorry I’ve been a bit neglectful in posting here. I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Speed of Falling Objects by Nancy Richardson Fischer courtesy of NetGalley and Harlequin TEEN. While I was granted the ability to read it for free, in exchange for my honest review, all thoughts are my own.

Here’s the thing…I literally can’t give this book fewer than five stars because it’s the first one in probably at least a decade that I accidentally stayed up all night reading because I literally couldn’t put it down. (Okay, I did put it down once, at about three in the morning, to try to sleep, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The most important factor to me, about this story, was the voice. Regardless of anything else, the voice was so gripping that I kept getting utterly caught up in the story. I don’t actually think I’d have ever picked it up if I’d realized that this wasn’t a cute contemporary like I for some reason had assumed it was, and that it was instead an adventure/thriller story set in a rainforest filled with horrible creepy crawlies constantly trying to kill everyone. I’m glad I read it, though. It was intense, and heartfelt. The main character’s personal growth was beautiful to watch, and I was definitely rooting for her and her friends. I wasn’t actually the biggest fan of the romance, but that was a small portion of the story. I would perhaps rate it 4.5 stars overall instead of 5 because of the romance portion, if it hadn’t been the only book that had captivated me so utterly in such a long time.

I would recommend it for fans of The Sandcastle Empire (minus the sci-fi elements) and the show Lost, and thriller fans in general. It was incredibly gritty and vivid and raw. A fantastic read, even if I do end up drinking every bit of coffee I own today to stay awake, lol.

Hello Lovelies. I had the opportunity to read an advance e-copy of Wild and Crooked that I received free from Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books, through NetGalley. Here are my thoughts about it…all of which are my own opinions. 🙂

If you’re looking for a diverse book, with LGBTQ or disability representation, add this one to your TBR. This story is about friendship, and discovery and doing the right thing when it’s rough.

It’s NOT about romance. Neither of the main characters are straight. Here’s a quote from the book, “Okay, maybe I’m a little gay. But my parents are already gay! And you’re gay!”
“You sayin’ we’re over our quota? Because I don’t think that’s ever stopped straight people.” LOL! But the book isn’t really about that. The boy, Gus, has cerebral palsy, and especially at first it seems like that’s a big part of how he sees himself, and thus is a big part of the story, but not the main part of the story. It seems very realistically and respectfully portrayed.

It felt slow to me at the beginning, but most books do. In fact, a lot of the most raved about books (Six of Crows, and Raven Boys to name a few) felt to me nearly too slow for a large part of the story, for me to get through. I nearly DNFed them both. There’s a bit of a mystery is the second half of the book that I wish had been more of a big deal as far as finding clues and solving it. But overall it was a good story – worth reading. I give it four stars.