“Castle of Lies” by Kiersi Burkhart Book Review

castle of lies

I was given an advanced readers copy of “Castle of Lies” by NetGalley for an open an honest review of the book.

With that being said, I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis sounded fantastic, and right up my alley – unfortunately the book didn’t deliver for me.

The book is being marketed as YA (Young Adult) Fiction, and I was honestly SHOCKED by topics brought up. From the beginning of the book there is an overtone of severe alcoholism, and it continues throughout. Other topics that I personally think were quite strong, and descriptive for YA fiction include: detailed sexual encounters, incest, inter-species love, violence, talk of rape, and the list goes on and on. Those are some very heavy themes in my opinion for YA Fiction.

On top of the heavy subject matter I found the characters highly impersonal, and unlikable. By the end of it I really couldn’t care less about what happened to them. At times things happening in the book were confusing, and not clearly communicated.

The plot was slow, and it barely kept my attention. It took me quite some time to finish this book. To be honest I only finished the book, because I was given an ARC otherwise I probably wouldn’t have finished it. It was also (besides the heavy themes) a very typical YA, Fantasy, Romance, and the ending was quite predictable.

The publish date is set for May 7, 2019 as of now if you’re interested in the strong subject matter I spoke of. Or, if you just want to see if I am being harsh you could always check it out for yourself. I however wouldn’t recommend it, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for the targeted age group starting at 13 and going up.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

Exploring the world one book at a time,
Book Reflections

“The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing” by Marie Kondo Book Review

“The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing” By Marie Kondo book review

Hello, and happy February! (We’re one month closer to Spring!) I assume most of you have heard about Marie Kondo, her book, and her Netflix series that premiered last month.

After the premier of her show I had friends, and family members contact me and say; “This sounds so much like you!” So, of course I had to check out her show, and read her book.

I admittedly am a “type A” person, so it isn’t hard for me to get behind someone who is promoting tidiness, and organization. I feel like she made a lot of great points in her book. And, her steps to tidiness and organization (AKA Konmari method) seem like they would be great steps to take – especially if you’re not already type A.

The first steps are obviously commitment to organization and tidiness, and envisioning your ideal lifestyle. Once committed she would like you hold each item that you own to see if it “sparks joy” for you.

She insist you follow these exact steps in organization and cleaning.

1) Clothing

2) Books

3) Papers

4) Miscellany

5) Sentimental Items

Now with all that being said there are definitely a few points in her book I slightly disagree with.

If you’re on social media at all I am sure you have seen this meme. (NNP)

I personally own over 700 books, and they’re all on shelves, categorized, and catalogued in three different places. I think my soul would slowly die if I had to widdle my book collection down to thirty.

At another point during her book she said it was not cheaper to “stockpile” everyday items, because it takes up room. I regularly coupon, and I buy things while they are on sale. I have room to store these items in an organized way so it is definitely cheaper for me to “buy” twenty free toothpaste and store them. Rather than pay three to five dollars for them when they’re not on sale.

I do agree we live in a materialistic society. I tell my husband all the time I think I was born in the wrong time period, because I love older things and how they were made to last. It’s always sad to me seeing people move from one popular thing to the next – never actually valuing what they had in the first place. I think that is really the point of Kondo’s book and series. Learning the value of what you have, and feeling as if it is enough for you and your family.

Let me know your thoughts!

Exploring the world one book at a time,

Book Reflections

The Adventure Begins

Thanks for joining me!

I look forward to sharing book musings with you, making new friends, and so much more through this whole process!

I hope we can share a common love of books, writing, and all things bookish. Share deals on books, and things of that nature. (P.S. I know some fantastic book stores – so stay tuned!) Gaze upon some photography, which will likely contain book quotes. Meet new people, discover new authors, and genres. Explore the world one book at a time. There is so much to discover, and I hope you’ll stick around for the ride!

Exploring the world one book at a time.

Book Reflections

S. McKinney

book reflection sun set 2