Synclair by Rachel Gold

Title: Synclair

Author: Rachel Gold

Publication date: November 17, 2020

Publisher: Bella Books

Pages: 212

Special thanks to Netgalley and Bella Books for granting me access to this title in exchange for an honest review!

This review is just a collection of quick thoughts as I don't feel like I have enough to say to format it as a full review!

Goodreads Synopsis

The summer before her senior year, Emma Synclair decides to find her true love: either a girl or God. Since she has a crush on her best friend―and on her best friend’s girlfriend―Synclair figures she’ll have better luck with God.

Which God? How will she know? Wicca, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity? Her atheist parents are out of the country for three months, so Synclair has the space to try some religions in peace.

Or so she thinks, until her friends decide that her house is the party house―that is: the dinner party house! How can she tell them no? She sneaks away to start her spiritual quest, but runs into her childhood friend Avery. Who grew up to be hot. And is also into girls. Is her true love Avery or God? Can she have both or is that the path to neither? Synclair vows to find out.

Quick Thoughts

I thought this book was okay. I liked all the characters and I loved that they displayed so much diversity, both with LGBTQ+ aspects and with various health issues/disabilities. It was wonderful to read a book with so much representation.

This book deals heavily with religious themes, and many different religious views are discussed. This is mentioned in the synopsis, but I want to emphasize that the religious themes are a huge part of the book, and not something that is simply mentioned a few times, so if directly exploring religious themes doesn't sound like your cup of tea, I would skip this book.

My only gripe with this book is that some of the events that take place feel a little ridiculous, like when Synclair falls into a pit and all of the events around that, or the very dramatic hail storm. At some points, it reads a little bit like fanfiction.

Overall, I think that this book was alright. If the subject matter appeals to you and you're okay with a little dramatics, you may enjoy this read. 

Chat With Me Thursday (15): Author Interview with Cherie Coyler

This week for my Chat With Me Thursday interview, I'm bringing you an interview with author Cherie Colyer, author of middle grade and young adult fiction books, including her newest,  Damned When I Didn't, which was released on November 18, 2020.

Connect with Cherie on Goodreads and visit her website, or find her on Twitter and Facebook!

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1. Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I’m a mother of four amazing men, an avid reader, lover of nature and magic and the different wonders of the world who loves to creates new characters and invent ways to get them in trouble. I also work full-time as a senior advanced technical support engineer with people much smarter than myself.

2. When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I was in my thirties. My husband and I like to go for long walks, and I was always talking about different story ideas I had. He’d chime in with his thoughts, and before we knew it, we’d have created a mini world hidden within our own. One day he asked me why I don’t write the story I talked about the most down. So I did. And I enjoyed it so much I kept going until I honed my craft and found homes for some of my books.

3. What book of yours was most difficult to write and why?

Right now, I’m going to say the sequel to Damned When I Didn’t. I’m a bit stuck on what I want to happen, which is driving me nuts.

4. Which book was the most fun?

Oh, this is hard. Once I get to know my characters, I have fun with the stories. But if I had to pick, it would be a toss-up between Hold Tight, which is the second book in my Embrace Series, and Entwined, the third book. The characters for that story came easily to me, and I always knew what was going to happen next, which made it fun to write the sequels.

5.  In Damned When I Didn't what came to you first, the plot or the characters?

The plot. I really wanted to write a book about a succubus, but I wanted to have a unique twist. Something I hadn’t read before. And I thought, what if my succubus was a virgin. Everything fell in place from there.

 6. Do you have any writing routines that you do to get yourself in the mood to write?

I write in the morning, so my routine starts with coffee and ends with me on the couch working on my latest work-in-progress. Not too exciting, I know, but it works for me. Now, if I find myself with the house to myself during the day, I gather my things (something to drink, my phone for music, a snack, and laptop) and set up outside in the shade or in the living room where it’s bright and cheery. I find it easiest to write when I’m the only one home, so I find these times blissfully perfect.

7. What do you do to ease writers' block?

Anything away from my laptop: hanging out with friends or family, yard work, cleaning, shopping, reading, watching reruns of my favorite shows. If this doesn’t work, then I open a fresh Word doc and write a day in my character’s life or let my character ramble on, spilling his or her innermost thoughts until I realize what needs to happen next in my story.

8. Are you working on anything new right now?

I’ve been alternating between playing around with a sequel to Damned When I Didn’t and revising a YA paranormal thriller I’d written a while ago.

9. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Read as much as you can, and read a little of everything. You can learn a lot about flow, characterization, plot, etc. by reading different books. And don’t give up. Writing is hard at times. First drafts often (maybe even always) suck. But that’s why we revise. So keep going, finish the first draft, and remember to have fun.

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That concludes the interview! Special thanks to Cherie for allowing me to feature her today, as always, it was so much fun!

Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart by Helene Opocensky

Title: Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart

Author: Helene Opocensky

Publication date:  October 10, 2020

Pages: 380

Quick Thoughts

I was surprised at how much I loved this book. Fantasy books are always a bit hit and miss to me. I do admit that I am pretty picky with the genre, but this one really hit the mark for me.

What I loved most about this book was the all of the worldbuilding. Every element was developed with a great attention to detail. The history, the way the magic works, the reasons behind everything that happens, past and present, nothing was left out. The writing truly puts you inside the story, so you are surrounded by it in the best way possible.

The characters were also deeply developed, so I felt connected to all of them. They all had a purpose in the story, none of them felt like they were there just to take up space, which I really liked.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I don't have any complaints. If you're looking for a fantasy book with lots of attention given to the world-building, this book might be for you!

Link by Link: An Anthology of Haunted Holidays Book Blitz + Giveaway!

Link by Link: An Anthology of Haunted Holidays
Publication date: December 2nd 2020
Genres: Holiday, Paranormal, Supernatural, Young Adult

“‘I wear the chain I forged in life,’ replied the Ghost. ‘I made it link by link…’”-Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Link by Link is a collection of 9 stories of ghosts, spirits, and creatures unnamed, all come to teach lessons we won’t soon forget. From sweet Christmas tales to terrifying holiday hauntings, these stories take a dive into the past in the hopes of creating a better—or at least different—future.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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Hello December + November Wrap Up and Wrap Up Tag

Time has gotten away from me in the last week or so, so what I would usually post as three separate short posts, I'm condensing into one, very slightly longer post.

First things first, we're saying goodbye to November and hello to December. November brought with it fewer posts than October, but that doesn't surprise me because in October I was posting nearly every day, sometimes twice a day. In November, I didn't read enough to create that much content. All in all though, I still managed to post 18 times, which is still a lot for me.

I don't have a lot planned for December, and I can pretty much guarantee that I will be posting significantly less this month. I do have a few things planned though, so far I know that I have one author interview to post, one book blitz (with a giveaway!), and I'm hoping to be finishing with Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart by Helene Opocensky and Synclair by Rachel Gold, so if I do that, there will be reviews for those this month.

Last but certainly not least the lovely Pheonix at Books With Wings tagged me in her Wrap-Up Tag. I'm so happy to be tagged in her post again, just because time has gotten away from me in the last week or so doesn't mean that I would miss the opportunity post the tag again!

I would also like to once again tag CM Alsop at YA Lit Reviews for Teens and Libraries and Laura at Blue Eyed Books

To participate, just follow these rules:

• Link back to the original creator (Pheonix at Books With Wings)
• Thank the person who tagged you (Thank you so much Pheonix! I love your tags.)
• Answer all the questions
• Tag 3 people
• Enjoy!

Okay, so, here I go with the questions

A book you read this month with a strong bond (friends, family etc.)

I think I'm gonna go with Down World by Rebecca Phelps for this one, the bond that exists at the very beginning between brother and sister is very strong here, and the bonds that form throughout the book are also strong and create a found-family vibe.

A book you read this month in which the characters feasted

I think I'll go with The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. by Colleen Nelson. The feast wasn't huge, but I think it counts, there was a bunch of people gathering. There was food. There was wine. That checks all the boxes for me.

The characters you would love to invite to your house for Thanksgiving (pre-covid)

I would say I definitely want Monsieur Duval from The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. and Max from Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart. (which yes, technically I'm still reading, but I started reading it in November so I'm hoping I can still count itt) I think Duval and Max would definitely get in an argument about magic, but that's okay. After all, what's Thanksgiving without a little argument at the dinner table?