July Wrap-Up

Hello lovely readers, summer is flying by, and though the days are longer it feels like I have less time than ever. I am glad to say though that I have made some progress with Unearthed After Sunset. Here's everything I've been up to in July.

READING:

Books Reviewed in July:

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting - I was expecting this to be a YA murder mystery, and it was, but it leaned more to focusing on YA issues when I think they could have gone a little darker.

Books Read in July:

I started reading The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King last week. I can tell this book is setting up the series, and while there's been some action the pacing has been a little slow.

Books to read in August:

I'm planning to finish The Gunslinger, then after that, I'm not sure what I'll move on to.

WRITING:

Unearthed After Sunset is all ready to go. I'm making a plan for marketing and will hopefully have a release day planned soon! That means ARC copies will be coming soon, and if you want one I'd suggest *hint hint* joining my mailing list on my website www.laurynapril.com.

BLOGGING:

July was another busy month, but I did have some fun blogging. I've also been spending more time on Twitter, so if you don't already follow me, my handle is @LaurynApril.

My Favorite Blog Posts in July:

Favorite Post Written: Three Books I Wish would have Ended Differently, I mostly wrote this post to vent about some books that would have been perfect if they'd ended differently. 

Favorite Post Read: This past month, I checked in on some of my writer friends blogs to see what they've been up to. I read The Delights of Good and Bad Writing by Lucinda Elliot where she talks about cliches, and how sometimes we still love those tired old tropes. I also visited author Jennifer Ann at her blog where she recently talked about how much Goodreads reviews (and really all reviews) mean to authors in Goodreads Ratings (A Public Service Announcement).

PERSONAL:

I'm building a garage... well, more accurately, my husband is building a garage and I'm trying to be involved so it doesn't end up bigger than my house. The crazy amount of rain we've gotten hasn't helped, but we've made some progress. 

How was your July?

Three Books I Wish would have Ended Differently

Every time I read a book I have ideas pop into my head about what could happen (usually in regard to how the book ends). Sometimes, those ideas grow, turning into threads of an alternate reality that play over inside my mind. Usually, I continue reading and I'm glad when things don't go exactly how I pictured them. It's nice to be surprised. Except, every now and then I like the version in my head better. Every once and a while I'm left emotionally raw at the end of a book because I just felt like there was another way things could have gone -- a better way. Now, I'm also a sucker for happy endings so this may have something to do with these fantasies in my head. Below are how I wish some of my favorite books would have ended.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

Delirium - This book ends with the main character, Lena, being saved from being cured of love by Alex. She escapes over the fence to safety, but Alex is caught. I wish it would have ended with Lena getting caught! I wanted her to have the surgery and discover that it didn't work on her just like with her mother. Then the second book could have focused on her pretending to be "cured" but secretly she'd be sneaking around with  Alex and working within the gates to help the rebellion. Part of the reason I didn't continue with this series was because the second book seemed to take Lena in a very different direction than the first book. Read my Review of Delirium


Before I Fall - This book ends with Sam finally getting out of her time-loop by dying to save Juliet. What I disliked about the ending, other than the fact that Sam dies, was that Lindsay, who was way more responsible for Juliet's state of mind than Sam, had no real reason to change. I felt like a stronger ending would have been Lindsay helping Sam talk Juliet down and away from the road. Then Lindsay would actually take on some responsibility for her actions, and they could save Juliet without anyone dying. Lindsay would change as a person. Kent and Sam would get to make out and maybe Sam wakes up the next day to Kent's alarm, thinking it's hers and that the day is repeating again, then she realizes she's in bed with Kent. BOOM everyone's happy. (This is how I pretend it ended in my head.) Read my Review of Before I Fall

The One (Selection #3) - This book ends with Maxson picking America and the King dying. I wished they didn't kill the King so we could have seen America and him butt heads in a fourth book. The One didn't feel like a sufficient ending for America and Maxon. I really wish the author had done a fourth book (about them, not their daughter) showing how they were going to rule differently than the King. And if he had been alive for that fourth book, watching Maxon and America try to make changes while the King was still in power could have been an epic plot. Read my Review for The One




What books do you wish would have ended differently?

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Review

3 Stars. Wished it was Darker. I loved the concept of this book. It was quirky and interesting. Violet has a special ability that helps her find dead bodies. And, when girls her age start getting murdered in her hometown, she's in a pequilar situation to both help the police in their investigation, but also draw attention to herself.

There were a few parts in the beginning where the backstory got heavy. There were also places where I felt there was more telling than showing. For example, when the second body is found we don't see how Violet finds out about this. I wish we could have seen how she found out and her reaction. There's another part where the book discusses how seriously the school is taking the deaths of these girls, but this isn't really described.

There was some pretty language and a few really beautiful scenes. The chapters through the killer's POV, in particular, had some well-written descriptions. I just wish there'd been a few more of them. One of the things I loved was the death echoes. I liked that each presented in a different way. I thought that entire concept was unique and interesting. I only wish we knew why each person had the echo they had. They seemed a little random.

I felt like the way characters were introduced could have been better. For example, I didn't like that Grady isn't introduced until he asks Violet to the dance. It's mentioned that they've been friends for a while, so I wish the author would have mentioned him earlier. Or, just not mentioned that they were friends growing up because honestly, they didn't seem that close. His arrival felt like the author just added characters as needed. I also felt this way with some of Violet's friends. A few of them aren't mentioned at all until they all go shopping together.

Another thing that bothered me was that I didn't actually like Jay that much. Violet was constantly thinking of Jay throughout the book. Which I understood, but it got to be a bit much at times. He was also kind of controlling and while he seemed to have Violet's back he made a lot of assumptions about what she wanted or what was best for her and I didn't like that. He was pushy. I wish he would have asked Violet what she wanted more often. There were still times when I was rooting for him and Violet, especially in the beginning, but the more I got to know him the more he did things that bugged me.

I liked the subplot with Jay and Grady at first. Violet likes Jay, but Jay seems oblivious and Grady likes her. At first, it was great. But as it went on I got annoyed with it. Violet basically uses Grady. I felt bad for him because she was stringing him along. I wished she had kinda liked him.I also disliked <spoiler> how he attacks her at the party and tries to kiss her. Then Jay swoops in to save the day. It just felt really cliche. I didn't think the author had to turn Grady into a creep. He was more interesting when he was just a guy that liked Violet. </spoiler> Also, there were times where Violet's relationships felt like more of the focus of the story than the murders. More than halfway through the book Violet's involvement with the actual murders had been minimal.  I'm most disappointed by this because the scenes where Violet was tracking down the murderer were awesome!

There were a few scenes where Violet was either purposely looking for the killer, or found herself in a situation where she was near him and the author did a good job building suspense. Whenever Violet was using her abilities I felt like I couldn't put the book down.

Overall it was a fun and unique read, but I'm not sure I'll continue with the series.