Book Review: Crow Mountain by Lucy Inglis

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Crow Mountain
Author: Lucy Inglis
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genres: Romance | Historical Fiction
Released: May 31st 2016
Review Source: Chicken House

A sweeping tale of love, legacy, and wilderness set between the present day and 1867 in the dramatic landscape of modern-day and territorial Montana.
While on a trip to Montana with her mom, British teen Hope meets local boy Cal Crow, a ranch hand. Caught in a freak accident, Hope and Cal take shelter in a cabin, where Hope makes a strange discovery in an abandoned diary. More than a hundred years earlier, another British girl--Emily--met a similar fate. Her rescuer, a horse trader named Nate. In this rugged place, both girls learn what it means to survive and to fall in love, neither knowing that their fates are intimately entwined.

This book was a bit difficult to figure out at the beginning. The summary on the back of the book, the cover, and the prologue all seemed to be set in modern times, but then you flip to chapter one and it’s set in the 1860s, but you turn to chapter two and it’s set in modern times once again. It took me a second to figure it out, but there are two stories running parallel to each other inside the book, which is a really cool concept and forces you to pay more attention to both stories.

The chapters set in the 1860s are written more as a story to someone specific, rather than an audience, whereas the chapters set in modern-day times are in the third-person perspective. It’s really interesting to have both of these perspectives and story lines and still see how history repeats itself, but can be changed and improved throughout generations - which I feel is the point of the story as a whole.

The story set in the 1860s is written by Emily, a 16 year-old English girl traveling all the way to Oregon to partake in her arranged marriage. Along the way, the carriage she is traveling in crashed and she is left to be the only survivor, only by the grace of the man who saved her. This man named Nate brought her back to his house in Montana, nursed her back to health, taught her the ways of the land, and they both eventually fall in love with each other (there’s plenty of other juicy and surprising details, I just don’t want to spoil anything huge!).

The story set in modern times follows Hope, a 16 year-old English girl traveling to Montana with her mother, who is on the trip as a research scientist. She goes on a trip with Cal, the son of the man who is hosting their stay. Whilst on this trip, their truck crashes and they’re left to find their way to the house of the boy’s grandfather - which happens to be the same house Nate owned in the 1860s. See what I mean about history repeating itself?

As the story progresses Hope finds Emily’s diary and reads about all of her adventures and experiences with Nate all the while she is having her own adventures and experiences with Cal. However, Hope did not let her story end like Emily ended hers.

This book executed a concept I had never seen before and did it very well. The two stories running alongside each other did not let me get lazy in reading it and it was really interesting to see this author’s take on the phenomenon of “history repeats itself.” However, I feel like the plot itself has been done before - city girl falls in love with country boy, big conflict, heartbreaking resolution, eventually happy ending.

Book Review: Vendetta by Catherine Doyle

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Vendetta

Blood for Blood #1
Author: Catherine Doyle
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Expected Release: February 24, 2015
Review Source: Chicken House Ltd

When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication.With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago.

When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell's life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nicoli, Sophie finds herself falling into a criminal underworld governed by powerful families. As the boys' dark secrets begin to come to light, Sophie is confronted with stinging truths about her own family, too. She must choose between two warring dynasties - the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break.

Five very good looking boys move into an old, creepy house in your small town...I mean, who wouldn't get excited about that? Vendetta was a good, quick read that included mystery, romance, and action. It took me awhile to really get into the story, but after a few chapters, I was happy I didn't give up on it.

My favorite part of the book was the characters. Sophie was down-to-earth and a little rebellious at times, so it was nice that you could relate to her even if you didn't have a gangster dad in jail. I also loved her mom and the relationship the two had together. Her mom was cool and understood Sophie and when they were together, you could tell that they got a long really well. And that leads me to Nic...oh Nic...you are a hottie. At first, I didn't know if I was going to like him or not. He came off a little rough at first, but in the end, I was in love. The relationship between him and Sophie was perfectly orchestrated and I never felt like it was forced. I think there was enough romance to keep the reader involved in the story, but not enough to make it inappropriate for teens to read.

The plot of the story was also very interesting. Sophie's dad is in prison because he killed someone in his own diner. The diner that Sophie now owns, despite her uncle being upset about this. Enters Nicoli, or Nic, whose family is involved in it somehow. It reminded me a lot of a Romeo and Juliet type story because Sophie and Nic come from feuding families, but fall in love with each other. Even though the storyline had a Romeo and Juliet type to it, it still felt unique and fresh.

Overall, I think this book will do well in the teen scene. I would give this book to my older middle school students, but would still be okay with the younger crowd reading it as well. I would've given it a higher ranking, but it did take me awhile to really get into it. Some of the scenes could've been shorter and some needed more added to them. I hope to read more from this author!

Trailer Thursday: Vendetta by Catherine Doyle + The Longest Ride

Vendetta

Blood for Blood #1

Author: Catherine Doyle

Expected Publication: February 24, 2015

Publisher: Chicken House Ltd

When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion next door, Sophie Gracewell's life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nic Falcone, Sophie finds herself falling into an underworld governed by powerful families. When Sophie's own family skeletons come to life, she must choose between two warring dynasties, the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break ...

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The Longest Ride

Release Date: April 10, 2015

Director: George Tillman, Jr.

Writers: Craig Bolotin, Nicholas Sparks (novel)

Cast: Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda, Oona Chaplin, Jack Huston

Based on the bestselling novel by master storyteller Nicholas Sparks, THE LONGEST RIDE centers on the star-crossed love affair between Luke, a former champion bull rider looking to make a comeback, and Sophia, a college student who is about to embark upon her dream job in New York City’s art world. As conflicting paths and ideals test their relationship, Sophia and Luke make an unexpected and fateful connection with Ira, whose memories of his own decades-long romance with his beloved wife deeply inspire the young couple. Spanning generations and two intertwining love stories, THE LONGEST RIDE explores the challenges and infinite rewards of enduring love.

Book Review: The Drowning by Rachel Ward

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The Drowning
IF PART OF A SERIES
Author: Rachel Ward
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery
Released: April 29th 2014
Review Source: Chicken House

Water, water, everywhere: His brother has drowned, but Carl can't remember a thing. Until it all comes flooding back...with a vengeance. By the author of the internationally bestselling NUMBERS series.

With a jolt, Carl opens his eyes. He's on the bank of a lake, soaked to the bone. Rob, his brother, is being zipped up in a body bag. And a girl, drenched and trembling, is talking to the police. Who is she? What happened in the water? And why can't he remember any of it?

"Bring her to me . . ."
At first Carl thinks it's his grief speaking. Remembering Rob. The sound of his voice, things he used to say.

"Bring her to me . . ."
But then Carl starts to see him. Rob's face in the water before it washes down the drain. His ghost rising up from the puddles. His hands clawing out of the moldy, rain-rotted walls. Like a dripping tap, he won't stop. "Bring her to me!"

Rob may be dead. But he's not gone. Because he wants to finish what he started, and he won't go under alone.

By the author of the internationally bestselling NUMBERS series, THE DROWNING is a dark psychodrama about love and brothers, crimes and consequences, redemption and revenge.

Let me start by coming clean. From the start I had to fight off the urge to cheat and jump ahead to the last chapter!

Right from the start we are introduced to 15 year old Carl. He has woken after being pulled from a lake. He has no memory of how or why he is there but one thing he is sure of, that was his brother that was just zipped up and taken away in a body bag. And then there is the girl, the girl sitting across from him in the ambulance, crying. Who is she?

I cannot help but to feel sympathy for Carl, not only because of what he has woken up to, but for what waits for him at home. Carl lives at home with his mother, they both have just learned that his oldest brother has died as a result of a tragic accident, a drowning. I love the way the author tied all of the characters to Carl. It was easy to feel the way he felt about his mother, his brother and most of all, about the girl in the ambulance. However, I did not like Carl's brother from the beginning, just a few key sentences made the sympathy at his death just disappear.

What immediately begins to unfold is completely unexpected, I wouldn't say scary, but eery for sure. Carl is hearing voices, but not just any voice. And then there is the drip, the drip from the faucet.

This book was a lot of fun to read, it was exciting and it surprised me with the reasoning behind some of the events that occurred. I did would say that all ages will enjoy it, but you may have to read it with the all of your lights on!