Kara's Book Cravings: The Girl From Widow Hills

 

Time for a book confession: I absolutely love reading (and writing) YA, and I tend to choose YA over adult books. But there are just some authors who write in both age categories, and I prefer their adult books over their YA books. Megan Miranda is this author for me. 

I prefer her adult books over her teen books. Why? Because of her writing style. Don't get me wrong -- I love her voice and overall style, but personally, I find her unique style to be better suited to adult books. She tends to write very densely, with quite a bit of exposition and character reflection. For me, that works in adult but not so much in YA. 

So, what led me to this realization and ultimate confession? This book did:

The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda is an adult mystery / thriller, and it is phenomenal! From the very first page, I was hooked, and I had a hard time putting this book down to go do all that adult stuff I have to do on a daily basis. 

This is a story about a woman who, when she was just a child, was swept away during a major storm and stuck in the town's drainage system for three days. Her ordeal became a national story, and her mother cashed in on that by writing a book about everything. On the anniversary of her rescue, the press comes out in droves to check in on "the girl from Widow Hills," when all she wants is to be left alone. Naturally, there's a lot more to this tale that meets the eye. 

The twists and turns combined with the intentional misdirection is just... wow! As a reader, I was impressed with how the story unfolded, and I know this one will stick with me, but as an author -- I strive to write as well as Megan Miranda, to be able to weave a tale that leads readers down one path and then shoves them in a completely different direction. 

Has anyone else read this book? What did you think? What other books have you read that left your jaw on the floor? Share in the comments!

Kara's Book Cravings: Haunted America

 

Because I love everything spooky and scary, I was browsing Amazon for exactly those types of books, and I stumbled upon this one:

As you can see, there's no author listed, and that's because the book was produced by Publications International, LTD. Which... okay. I mean, I know a human had to have written this, but the lack of a named author bugged me. For me, this read more like a textbook stating facts rather than a person sharing scary stories. Don't get me wrong -- there were a handful of really great sections in here, and I've once again added a few titles to my TBR. Overall, though, I wasn't as impressed with this book as I thought I'd be. Oh well. You win some and lose some, right? 

Has anyone else read this particular book? What did you think? 

Do you have suggestions for anything similar that I can check out?

Kara's Book Cravings: The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale

 

After having read quite a few dense non-fiction books and twisty, dark thrillers, I needed something light and fluffy for a change, and so I picked up The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale by Stephanie Eding. Full disclosure: I know this author. I've worked with her on a book she'd previously published with Anaiah Press, and we're friends on Facebook. She constantly makes me "ooohh" and "awww" when she posts pictures of the kittens she fosters. Seriously so adorable! And y'all know how much I love cats!

A while ago, Stephanie had posted on Facebook that her book was on sale, so I grabbed a copy. That whole authors supporting authors mindset, and she's a genuinely nice person. I wanted to support her, and I had enjoyed the YA she'd previously published with Anaiah, so I assumed I'd like this new book, too. And I wasn't wrong!

This is an adult book, a cross between women's fiction and rom-com, and I loved absolutely everything about this book! The characters are so relatable, and their interactions with one another are fantastic. I legit laughed out loud several times while reading this, and I was consistently rooting for all three of the characters (the main character, Josie, and her two roommates, Ben and Kevin.) I don't think I can pick a favorite, but Kevin is hilarious! The way they speak to each other and tease each other reminds me so much of me and my husband and a few of our friends. 

Overall, this was exactly what I needed as a palate cleanser in between the heavier books I've been reading lately, and my spirits were lifted when I finished the last page. While I would have like answers to some lingering questions / sub-plots, they didn't really hinder my enjoyment at all. (And I know the author, so I can totes just ask her! lol)

Anyone else read this one yet? What did you think? Do you have any recommendations for similar books?

Kara's Book Cravings: The Haunted

 A few years ago, I'd read Survive the Night by Danielle Vega. I think I'd found that at a local used bookshop, and I was intrigued enough to buy it. Unfortunately, I don't remember much about that book other than the ending was extremely confusing in a very creepy sort of way. But I didn't have any issues with the author's writing style, so when I found this gem at a local garage sale, I couldn't pass it up. 

The Haunted by Danielle Vega is a mix between a horror and a thriller, which is so my thing! And this book didn't disappoint. It was a quick read that was easy to follow. Parts of this were definitely high on the creepy meter, but I didn't find it particularly scary. Though, if this were made into a movie or TV show, I can easily see a lot of great jump scares. 

The only real complaint I have about this book is the romance subplot. It felt both forced and rushed. I thought for sure the main character was going to end up with one guy, and then BAM! She's in love with someone else. Didn't make much sense to me, but I also realize romance isn't the focus of this story, so... *shrug*

Overall, this was a quick, immersive read. The ending was unexpected, so that's always a bonus. I see there's a sequel, but I'm not sure I'm invested enough to buy and read it (especially with how this first book ended). 

Anyone else read this book? Or anything else by this author? 

What're your thoughts? 

Kara's Book Cravings: The Shadow Sister

 

One day, I was scrolling through Twitter, as I often do when I'm procrastinating, and I saw a tweet with an absolutely STUNNING book cover. Even though, at the time, I wasn't following this author, the cover made me stop and take a closer look. It was the author's debut release day, and if the cover hadn't already snagged my attention, the tag line on the front certainly did. As I followed the links in the tweet, I read the back cover blurb, and I've never hit "buy now" so fast in my life! (Seriously, anyone who tells you Twitter doesn't sell books is a liar.) I mean, just look at this cover!!

Gorgeous, right? I'm sure that purple being one of my favorite colors helped my buying decision, too, but that's really not the point. Haha. 

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade is a YA thriller, and I devoured this book so fast. I had no idea what was really going on until the very end, and I wasn't able to guess the twist, either. The author does a fantastic job of misdirecting the reader in a way that makes sense and fits within the story and the characters. I will say that neither of the sisters in this book are very endearing, but having raised 4 girls myself (all in various stages of teen years and young adulthood), the sibling relationship that's portrayed is accurate, based on my own experiences anyway. 

If you're a fan of twisty YA books, then this is definitely the book for you! I'm eagerly awaiting this author's next book. 

Has anyone else read this yet? Do you think you'll check it out? 

Kara's Book Cravings: Fragments of the Lost

 

Now that I've dug myself out of a reading rut, I'm dipping my toe back into my first love--teen fiction. Mainly thrillers. These are like crack to me. Seriously, I have sooo many of these types of books on my shelf, and I'm constantly buying more. But I digress...

A few years ago, a friend of mine suggested I read All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda, which is an adult mystery / thriller. He raved about the unique story telling. (The author tells the story in reverse, which is just... *chef's kiss*) Anyway, I loved the book and have read it twice now. So when I was perusing a bookstore, I found that this author has written some YA books, too. Imagine my excitement!

And so I bought this one: Fragments of the Lost by Megan Miranda.

Like All the Missing Girls, this book is told in a unique way, too, in that it's jumping a lot from present to past. Not tense, but actual events. The premise is that a girl is doing a favor for her ex-boyfriend's mom in cleaning out his room after he died in a tragic accident. So each time she finds something in his room, it triggers a memory about them as a couple. It's really done very well and not at all confusing. 

However, I had trouble getting into this book. In fact, I started it and then walked away for a month or so before finally coming back to it. I'm one of those readers who has a real hard time DNF-ing a book, especially one I paid full price for. I was determined to get through this, and I'm glad I did. 

The pacing does eventually pick up (and once it did, I had a hard time putting this down), but for me, it took a little too long to get to the mystery / thriller part, which was what ultimately made this book for me.  I do have another of this author's YA books on my shelf, and I do plan to read it. I hope it doesn't start as slowly as this one. 

Overall, while this one didn't blow my mind quite like All the Missing Girls, if you're a fan of unique story telling methods, then definitely grab one of her books.

Has anyone else read any of Megan Miranda's books? What do you think? Do you have one you recommend I read? 

Kara's Book Cravings: Million Dollar Outlines

 

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I do not like to outline my books. I much prefer to sit and write and make things up as I go along, because once I take the time to outline, I feel like I've already told the story and know what happens, so I lose all desire to actually write the story. 

But during an online class I took, a few people raved about the book, Million Dollar Outlines by David Farland. Knowing he'd mentored the author (Stephenie Meyer) of one of my all-time favorite series (Twilight), I figured checking out this book couldn't hurt. Who knew -- maybe his words and methods would change my mind about outlining. 

As you can see based on all the sticky tabs sticking out of this book, I certainly picked up on a lot of useful information. Did reading this make me want to change my mind and start outlining my books? Nope. But, it did make me realize something that I think will help me moving forward.

I'd always thought outlining meant planning what happens chapter-by-chapter, but this book made me realize that's not necessarily the case at all. "Outlining" can be any prep work that goes into writing a book -- everything from deciding the genre to the emotional beats you want to hit to the setting. Which led to my realization...

When I'd started writing the Cursed Series, I took a solid few weeks to develop the curse, the timeline for the curse, Chloe's lineage, the vampire lore, and researching the town where the story takes place. Once I had all of that worked out, writing the actual story was rather easy. I didn't have to stop to look something up, or get sucked into a research rabbit hole because I had already done that prep work. So while I don't ever go in depth in terms of laying out what I want to happen in each chapter, I often do a little outlining prior to writing, and that seems to be enough for me to get the first draft written. 

If you're a fan of outlining, you absolutely need to read this book. If you're more like me, still read this book because I promise you will find something useful in here. What I liked the most, though, was that the author didn't just talk about HOW to outline. He talked about the benefits of outlining, how to retrain your brain to view it differently, and he used examples from popular books to make his points -- and I don't know about anyone else, but seeing the tips translated into successful media / books is super helpful to me. Thanks to this book, I've also bought a couple other craft books that the author recommends. I haven't read them yet, but they are high on my TBR pile. 

Anyone else read this book? Thoughts? Are you an plotter or a pantser? 

Kara's Book Cravings: Paranormal State

 

As I've mentioned before, I typically stick to YA when I read for personal enjoyment, but lately, I've been branching out of my comfort zone -- which has worked wonderfully to get out my recent reading slump. Instead of YA, I've been sticking to quite a bit of non-fiction, mostly travel books, haunted places, paranormal investigating, and writing craft books. 

While out at a local thrift store, I'd found this book: Paranormal State by Ryan Buell.

I need to take a moment here to clarify that I don't know this guy, nor have I ever watched an episode of this show, but the back cover blurb piqued my interest, and as a lover of all things spooky, I figured... why not? I'm glad I took a chance on this one.

Not only did we get to see what types of paranormal investigations he and his team worked on, we got a neat, behind-the-scenes look at how the show was made. Also, there were sections that went into more depth on some of the terms used throughout and what various types of paranormal hauntings there are in the world. Surprisingly, this also had an element of faith in it, especially when dealing with clients and families who had strong faith themselves and when dealing with demonic entities. 

Overall, while somewhat dense in content, the book was a quick read. I think I got through it in a day, maybe a day and a half. And now I'm interested in looking up the show and watching a few episodes. 

Anyone else read this book or watched the show? What did you think? Are you a believer in the paranormal?