wings and fables

Top 5 Tuesday: Books I Wish Had TV Adaptations

May 11, 2021May 25, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables10 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Books I Wish Had TV Adaptations.

This week’s prompt was a bit more challenging for me this week because so many books I would put on this list are actually becoming TV series already! I’m so happy that many more young adult books are being adapted to screen nowadays. Even if they’re not perfectly true to their source material, I’m happy that more authors are getting an opportunity to see their creations come alive in a different way.

1. Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn

This series defines my teenage years and I have such a deep connection with the books. It’s a Christian young adult series that follows a Wisconsin girl who spends the summer with her aunt and uncle in Newport Beach, California. She falls in love with one of the surfers and he introduces her to the concept of having a real relationship with Jesus, not just an I-attend-church type of vibe. The original series has 12 books and the author has gone on to write the characters through their college lives, their marriage, and her newest books focus on them becoming parents. There are so many ups and downs in the series from Christy’s family moving across the U.S. to the love interest, Todd, cutting off their relationship at times to Christy selecting a life path only to find out that it really isn’t for her. There’s loads of material that could be used in a TV show adaptation and a few of Gunn’s books have already made it to the screen on the Hallmark channel. I’d love to see Christy Miller take a spot as well.

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Reviews

ARC Review: Words Composed of Sea and Sky by Erica George

May 10, 2021May 22, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables2 Comments

“i hope that when people look for something that is left of me, all they’ll find is you.”
erica george

Series: Standalone

Release Date: May 25th 2021

Publisher: Running Press Kids

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | Contemporary | Historical Fiction | Romance

Page Count: 368

Source: I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Goodreads Summary: This modern summer romance set on Cape Cod features two young adult poets divided by centuries.

Michaela Dunn, living on present day Cape Cod, dreams of getting into an art school, something her family just doesn’t understand. When her stepfather refuses to fund a trip for a poetry workshop, Michaela finds the answer in a local contest searching for a poet to write the dedication plaque for a statue honoring Captain Benjamin Churchill, a whaler who died at sea 100 years ago. She struggles to understand why her town venerates Churchill, an almost mythical figure whose name adorns the school team and various tourist traps. When she discovers the 1862 diary of Leta Townsend, however, she gets a glimpse of Churchill that she didn’t quite anticipate. In 1862, Leta Townsend writes poetry under the name Benjamin Churchill, a boy who left for sea to hunt whales. Leta is astonished when Captain Churchill returns after his rumored death. She quickly falls for him. But is she falling for the actual captain or the boy she constructed in her imagination?

Rating:

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Reviews

ARC Review: Gutter Girl by Lynn Rush & Kelly Anne Blount

May 9, 2021May 22, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables5 Comments

this is why people always act so ridiculous in the movies when they’re getting swept off their feet by their crush. he kissed the english language right out of my brain, yet again.
lynn rush & kelly anne blount

Series: Twin River High #1

Release Date: May 10th 2021

Publisher: Entangled Publishing LLC

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | Contemporary | Romance

Page Count: 294

Source: I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

Goodreads Summary: Star football player Jace Rovers has a secret. And not just any secret—a shocking secret… He writes romance. The kind with swords. And dresses. And kissing. Nobody knows. Not the other kids at Twin River High. Not his overbearing parents. And certainly not the millions of fans who’ve read his book on the writing platform Scribbles. And that’s the way he plans to keep it. Except suddenly one of the other football players grabs his notebook in jest and starts reading a kissing scene out loud…and Jace knows he’s busted. But then McKenna Storm, resident goth girl who avoids the spotlight like a virus, snatches up the notebook and tells everyone she’s the author. And lucky for Jace, she later agrees to continue the ruse…for a price. Heck, he’d give her anything not to reveal his secret. But when they start to fall for each other, he knows he’ll have to keep the biggest secret of all—his darkest character is based on her…

Rating:

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Reviews

Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

May 8, 2021May 8, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments

“when everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.”
leigh bardugo

Series: Six of Crows #1

Release Date: September 29th 2015

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | High Fantasy | Romance | Adventure

Page Count: 465

Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

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Discussions, Let's Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading YA/Middle Grade as an Adult

May 7, 2021May 25, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic was suggested by Sam @ River Moose Books and is What Makes You Continue Picking Up YA/Middle Grade? Or Why Don’t You?

As adults some of us leave YA/Middle Grade behind and some of us continue to revel in it…but what separates us as readers? If you still pick up YA/Middle Grade, what draws you to them instead of Adult Fiction?

I am in the camp of someone in their 20s who still reads both young adult and middle grade. I think I still prefer to read them for multiple reasons. Although I read far more young adult than middle grade, I still find myself picking up middle grade from time to time. They’re often series that I loved as a child and want to go back to read more installments that have since been published or just to reread my favorites. I’m always amazed at how much development middle grade has, especially since they tend to be shorter books. I also don’t think books have an age limit. As long as you enjoy it, that’s all that matters!

Firstly, I think I’m drawn to young adult because I relate to the characters more. Although I’m old enough to live on my own, I’ve chosen to remain with my parents and sibling for the time being so I can’t relate to some of the struggles that adult fiction portrays such as dealing with relationship issues with a spouse, taking care of a family or raising a child, running a household, and so on. When I do read adult fiction, I tend to avoid contemporary novels because of the aforementioned themes and prefer to read historical fiction, fantasy, or cozy mysteries.

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Reviews, Tours

Book Tour & Review: Sunkissed by Kasie West (+ a book-inspired playlist!)

May 6, 2021May 27, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables6 Comments

“and sometimes is all i need, and more than i deserved. so i read into every sign. because sometimes, yes this time, sometimes brought me you.”
kasie west

Series: Standalone

Release Date: May 4th 2021

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Genre: Young Adult Fiction | Contemporary | Romance

Page Count: 320

Source: I received an advance reader’s copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in collaboration with TBR and Beyond Tours. Thank you!

Summary: A lighthearted and swoony contemporary YA romance by fan-favorite author Kasie West about a girl who finds that a summer spent at a family resort isn’t as bad as she imagined…and that falling in love is filled with heartache, laughter, and surprises!

After being betrayed by her best friend, Avery is hoping for a picture-perfect summer. Too bad her parents have dragged her and her sister to a remote family camp for the entire summer. And that’s not even the worst part. Avery also has to deal with no internet, a cute but off-limits staff member, and an always-in-her-face sister.

But what starts as a disaster turns into a whirlwind summer romance as Avery embarks on an unexpected journey to figure out what she truly wants and who she wants to be.

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Top 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tuesday: Books I Wish Had Movie Adaptations

May 4, 2021May 3, 2021by wren @ wingsandfables8 Comments

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan Reads. This week’s topic is Top 5 Books I Wish Had Movie Adaptations.

1. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time on my blog would know how much I loved this book. Even though it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling, it truly has a story and flair of its own and I think it would make an amazing movie. It has interesting characters along with disability rep, an in-depth curse which would present so much potential for CGI effects, and a compelling storyline with lots of high stakes and twists. Even if they changed the ending to make it into a single movie, I’d be so ready to hand my money over to see this.

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