The Betrothed - Review

The Betrothed (The Betrothed, # 1)

By: Kiera Cass

Expected Publication: May 5th 2020 by HarperCollins Children's Books

400 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--When King Jameson declares his love for Lady Hollis Brite, Hollis is shocked—and thrilled. After all, she’s grown up at Keresken Castle, vying for the king’s attention alongside other daughters of the nobility. Capturing his heart is a dream come true.

But Hollis soon realizes that falling in love with a king and being crowned queen may not be the happily ever after she thought it would be. And when she meets a commoner with the mysterious power to see right into her heart, she finds that the future she really wants is one that she never thought to imagine.

I enjoyed The Selection series. Sure, it wasn't without faults. But I didn't judge it as harshly as many did. Since I did enjoy the series, I've been curious about reading more by Kiera Cass but didn't get the opportunity to read The Siren. When I saw The Betrothed, I knew I wanted to check it out. Are there similarities to The Selection? Definitely. But there were enough differences to make The Betrothed feel pretty unique.

A male monarch is in need of a wife, but he's spending time with different women instead of doing a contest to find the right one. Unlike America Singer, who came to the Selection due to a broken heart with no intention of developing any feelings for the king, Hollis Brite initially loves the idea of being singled out by the king. Yet again, unlike America who falls in love with the king, Hollis falls in love with a commoner.

I picked up The Betrothed at the time that I did because I was in a slump and hoped it would draw me in. While it was the first book to hold my interest of the four others I'd tried at the time, I also had issues with it almost immediately. I quickly began to feel like I was reading the equivalent of watching a train crash. The idea is that something bad is coming yet you can't stop it and you can't look away. Sometimes this can be a great thing, but that wasn't how I felt reading The Betrothed. I had this sense of dread throughout the whole book. At one point I sought out reviews in hopes that anyone who might have read this before me could tell me if good things were to come or if the train would in fact wreck. What I learned was that readers were highly dissatisfied overall. And I can understand why.

Reviews complained that the characters were flat. This was 100% true. Each and every character felt flat. Maybe this was a show vs tell thing. We were told about the characters but not shown much about them. Especially when it comes to their histories. Hollis flip-flopped so quickly from her entire being pursuing the king and his favor to actively seeking a way out of the future that was closing in on her. Jameson was nice until it was convenient for storytelling purposes for him not to be. I, honestly, didn't like Delia Grace from the very beginning. It was probably due to my aversion to double names initially, but I felt she was constantly putting Hollis down. I could not understand how Hollis could stand her after Delia Grace finally opens up to her at the end of the book.

Silas's family was the closest I felt like I was connecting to any of the characters. Scarlet, his mother, and even Etan felt like stronger characters than Silas himself. The interaction between Hollis and Silas was so weird to me. Initially, they both spoke of very little beyond the understanding that Hollis would become the new queen. Their interaction that didn't revolve around that was minimal so the progression of their relationship felt jarring to me. Hollis continually made decisions that I didn't really understand.

I felt bad for Kiera Cass when I was reading the reviews of this book and I didn't think my review would be as harsh as the ones I'd read on Goodreads at the time of reading the book. Yet I can't in good conscience give this book a rating better than 2.5 Stars. I didn't really like it overall. I found myself interested in reading as quickly as possible, but I didn't enjoy the process. I also didn't connect with the characters, their decisions, their histories, or their potential futures. So I'm sorry Kiera Cass. I wanted to like it. But The Betrothed was just lacking. Have you read The Betrothed? What did you think? Let me know!

Sunday Post - 05/03/20

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Another good week. Tuesday, Husband came home from work early. Those are always good days. Wednesday it rained so we were stuck inside. The kids actually enjoyed a mix-up to our normal routine I think. We've gotten outside to walk and play almost every day. The kids talked me into getting our little pool set up even though it's really still been too cold to enjoy. But they've had fun playing in the water regardless. Friday, Husband was off work early again and my dad came over to work on some drainage issues we've had in our yard. We had a really old concrete pipe that had some roots grow into it and caused it to back up into our laundry room. While Husband and Dad were working on replacing that pipe, they ran a pipe under ground for our pool too. Dad and Mom came over Saturday to finish up work on that. And we had a wonderful day. The kids played outside almost all day.

THE PAST WEEK:

Monday: Review of Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon (4 Stars)
Wednesday: Can't Wait for The Tourist Attraction by
Thursday: April 2020 EOM Wrap
Friday: Review of Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett (4 Stars)

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of The Betrothed (The Betrothed, # 1) by Kiera Cass
Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday?
Wednesday: Can't Wait for Wednesday

Don’t forget to link up for the 2020 Series Enders Reading Challenge! You have until December 15th, 2020 to sing up. Each month there will be a giveaway for those participating with an end of the year giveaway too! Click on the picture below or the link above to find out more!

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

Chasing Lucky - Review

Chasing Lucky

By: Jenn Bennett

Expected Publication: May 5th 2020 by Simon Pulse *Update: November 10, 2020

416 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon |Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--In this coming-of-age romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, scandal and romance collide when an ambitious teen returns to her hometown only to have her plans interrupted after falling for the town’s “bad boy”—a.k.a. her childhood best friend.

Sometimes to find the good, you have to embrace the bad.

Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.

What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.

Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…

While I haven't read every published book by Jenn Bennett, I have read most of them. She's not an auto-buy author for me because she tends to touch on the politically correct in a way that throws messages into her books that I don't always agree with. But she is an auto-look-into author for me. This basically means I'm going to at least look into every book she publishes and will plan to read them as long as the major storylines don't fall into any of my deal breakers categories. That being said, I was beyond excited to get a review copy of Chasing Lucky. I was beginning to think I was on Simon and Schuster's blackball list or something. Regardless, I pretty much started Chasing Lucky immediately.

Josie is a typical good girl. She's been the adult more often than not in her relationship with her mother who has dragged her from city to city over the years since they originally left Beauty after a falling out between her mother and grandmother. Because she doesn't live long in one place, she never makes friends or connections. And after several years of this, she decides that she can't do it anymore. She comes up with a plan for when she turns 18 and can step away from her mom. She assumed her time in Beauty will be short, probably only a year while her grandmother is away. But Josie has connections in Beauty from her past... family and old friends. Her cousin fills her best friend roles and she reconnects with her childhood best friend, Lucky, even though things don't just click back into place.

Lucky was affected deeply by Josie leaving town when she did. He was going through a difficult time and needed his best friend. Since then, he's struggled a little with his self-worth which has resulted in the bad boy reputation that he's since acquired. He's a good guy at heart, and I was rooting for him every step of the way... even when his motivations were not clear.

Josie had a lot to work through beyond her relationship with Lucky and I really enjoyed the family aspects of Chasing Lucky. The dynamics between Josie and her mother. Josie's mother and her relationship with her own mom. Evie, Josie's older cousin, had a big role to play. As I mentioned earlier, she filled the role of Josie's best friend. Yet she has quite a lot on her own plate.

As I mentioned earlier, I have found that Jenn Bennett's books often have what I call Mountain Out of Molehills moments. There's usually some message thrown in--often in only a sentence or two--that if I mention seems like I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but I feel compelled to address regardless. In the case of Chasing Lucky one of these messages is that women can have as many meaningless sexual encounters as they want. Quoting from Chasing Lucky: "I know women can and should have whatever sex life they want." The idea is that there's often a discrepancy between what society expects of men and women. It isn't unusual to hear about men having multiple partners but it's hypocritical to expect different of women. For me, instead of bringing women to the same promiscuous level as men, why don't we bring men back to the level as women in what we expect of them. Instead of being more permissive for both, perhaps the way God designed things (one man and one woman--married) is the direction we need to go. I know my opinion is likely not popular. This isn't new to me. That's not to even mention the two gay possibilities briefly mentioned nor the short mention of abortion.

Favorite quote:

-People aren't disposable.

Chasing Lucky was everything I've come to expect from Jenn Bennett. Characters and a story that will suck me in and have me not wanting to put it down. A relationship I can root for and am dying to see play out. And a few politically correct statements thrown in whether big or small. Chasing Lucky gets 4 Stars. Have you read Chasing Lucky? What did you think? Let me know!

April 2020 EOM Wrap Up

I have read 8 books (not including children's books). *These qualify for the 2020 Series Enders Reading Challenge.
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
The Trouble with Hating You by Sanji Patel
His Lady in Hiding by Jen Geigle Johnson
Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn
Transforming Emma (Lockets and Lace, # 20) by Linda Carroll-Bradd
The Lost Lieutenant (Serendipity & Secrets, # 1) by Erica Vetsch
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I have reviewed 8 books. *These qualify for the 2020 Series Enders Reading Challenge.
*Selah (The Sugar Baron's Daughter, # 3) by Lisa T Bergren
Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Pennington
The Perfect Escape (The Perfect Escape, # 1) by Suzanne Park
The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally
Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
Transforming Emma (Lockets and Lace, # 20) by Linda Carroll-Bradd

Other Posts:
Sunday Post & Stacking the Shelves - 04/05/20
Sunday Post & Stacking the Shelves - 04/12/20
Sunday Post & Stacking the Shelves - 04/19/20
Sunday Post & Stacking the Shelves - 04/26/20
Ten Books I've Read Because of Book Reviews
Ten Books I Wish I'd Read as a Child
Can't Wait for A Bride of Convenience (The Bride Ships, # 3) by Jody Hedlund
Can't Wait for Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
Can't Wait for Well Played (Well Met, # 2) by Jen DeLuca
Can't Wait for Reconnected by Catherine Tinker
Can't Wait for The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska, # 1) by Sarah Morgenthaler
2020 Series Enders Reading Challenge - April Wrap Up
Defy the Worlds (Constellation, # 2) by Claudia Gray Giveaway
Escaping Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, # 3) by Kerri Maniscalco Giveaway

Goals:
I am 21 days ahead on of schedule my Bible-in-a-year plan.
I've read 31 out of 52 books (including children's books).
I've read 4 out of 5-10 series enders.

Can't Wait for The Tourist Attraction

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska, # 1)

By: Sarah Morgenthaler

Expected Publication: May 5th 2020 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

400 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--When Graham Barnett named his diner The Tourist Trap, he meant it as a joke. Now he's stuck slinging reindeer dogs to an endless string of resort visitors who couldn't interest him less. Not even the sweet, enthusiastic tourist in the corner who blushes every time he looks her way…

Two weeks in Alaska isn't just the top item on Zoey Caldwell's bucket list. It's the whole bucket. One look at the mountain town of Moose Springs and she's smitten. But when an act of kindness brings Zoey into Graham's world, she may just find there's more to the man than meets the eye…and more to love in Moose Springs than just the Alaskan wilderness.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!