Ash Reads Stuff

White Stag  by Kara Barbieri Publication Date: January 8th, 2019 Pages:  368 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult Fantasy My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: As the last child in a family of daughters, seventeen-year-old Janneke was raised to be the male heir. While her sisters were becoming wives and mothers, she was taught to hunt, track, and fight. On the day her village was burned to the ground, Janneke—as the only survivor—was taken captive by the malicious Lydian and eventually sent to work for his nephew Soren. Janneke’s survival in the court of merciless monsters has come at the cost of her connection to the human world. And when the Goblin King’s death ignites an ancient hunt for the next king, Soren senses an opportunity for her to finally fully accept the ways of the brutal Permafrost. But every action he takes to bring her deeper into his world only shows him that a little humanity isn’t bad—especially when it comes to those you care about...

Beautiful Mess  by Claire Christian Publication Date: August 27, 2017 Pages: 304 (kindle) Genre: Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating: 1-2 Stars Synopsis: Since Ava lost Kelly, things haven’t been going so well. Even before she gets thrown out of school for shouting at the principal, there’s the simmering rage and all the weird destructive choices. The only thing going right for Ava is her job at Magic Kebab. Which is where she meets Gideon. Skinny, shy, anxious Gideon. A mad poet and collector of vinyl records with an aversion to social media. He lives in his head. She lives in her grief. The only people who can help them move on with their lives are each other. My Review: Do you ever wonder if you've read the same book as other people? That's how I feel about Beautiful Mess .  This book had a lot of potential. I love a story that brings characters out of grief with the help of love, but this didn't really feel like that kind of story.  Ava i...

All the Good Parts by Loretta Nyhan Publication Date:  September 20, 2016 Pages:  338 (hardcover) Genre:  Women's Fiction My Goodreads Rating:  2.5 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: At thirty-nine, Leona Accorsi is broke, single, back in school, and living in her sister Carly’s basement. She’s perfectly content being quirky Auntie Lee to Carly’s four children. That is, until Leona’s doctor tells her that if she wants to have a child, she’d better do it now. Leona does want a baby. She always has, but the circumstances have never been right. Now she has a huge decision to make: face motherhood on her own or risk missing out on its rewards. Unfortunately, she’s let her romantic life go stagnant. She barely even knows any single men. She has just a few prospects: a Vietnam vet and partial amputee, his intimidating son, the sweet but troubled man who tutors her niece, and a fellow nursing student she’s never actually met. As Leona discovers more about each ...

Just a Kiss  by Denise Hunter Publication Date:  September 6, 2016 Pages:  336 (kindle)  Genre:  Contemporary Romance My Goodreads Rating:  2 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: Riley Callahan’s plans to reveal his secret feelings for his best friend are ruined when his life is drastically changed in Afghanistan. Watchingthe love of his life falling for his brother was enough to send Riley straight to boot camp. But over a year later, he’s officially a marine, and Beau and Paige are no longer an item. When Riley’s tour in Afghanistan is up, he intends to confess his feelings to Paige and win his best friend’s heart once and for all. But all that changes when an IED takes the life of two comrades and leaves Riley an amputee. Now he’s heading home, injured and troubled. His plans to win Paige are a distant dream. She deserves so much more than the man that’s left. All he can do now is put some healthy distance between them. But upon his return he di...

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart  by Jenn Bennett Publication Date:  November 3, 2015 Pages:  304 (hardcover)  Genre:  Young Adult My Goodreads Rating:  2.5 Stars  Goodreads Synopsis: Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Da Vinci’s footsteps, she’s ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive, and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in her family’s ...