Becoming Phoebe by J. Michael Neal

Title: Becoming Phoebe
Author: J. Michael Neal
Published: February, 2016
Published By: Melancholy Donkey Press
Format Read: PDF, Kobo, eBook, Overdrive
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult
Date Read: May 4, 2016
Rating: 3.5/5

I was sent a copy of Becoming Phoebe by J. Michael Neal from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

Phoebe Rose became a ward of the state of Ohio as a small child and her only dream aside from getting adopted was to play hockey for the University of Minneapolis. After a very traumatic upbringing in foster care and playing for a talent-less boys high school team she finally gets her chance to prove her talent. 

First Impressions

What initially excited me about this book was the fact that it was about hockey. A topic I am somewhat familiar with being Canadian. The added bonus was that it focused on women’s hockey. So naturally I began Becoming Phoebe anticipating to be empowered.

Inspiring

My initial anticipation wasn’t in vein as this book was full of strong hardworking young women, none more so than the main character Phoebe. Her determination and never ending effort was inspiring even despite her past trauma.

About Phoebe 

I admire the author for creating a character who although made a university hockey team, wasn’t the best player on the roster. This story could have been interesting had Phoebe been a phenomenal player, but by chronicling her struggles both on and off the ice brought great depth to the book.

Phoebe is a very intense and intimidating character and for good reason. Reading this book gave me a real understanding of what a team is supposed to be; a family. The women banded together and supported her, creating lifelong friendships. Becoming Phoebe is a fairly lengthy novel that I surprisingly flew through. While I had trouble connecting to the main character, I was engrossed throughout.

About the book

Aside from my lack of connection with Phoebe, I did find organization of the chapters to be confusing at times. Divided into two parts, the timeline jumps around. In the first part the story follows her first couple of years at university and the path she took to get there. Meanwhile the second part chronicles her last years in Minnesota and the years that follow.

Caution and recommendations 

Becoming Phoebe was an emotional reading experience as it touches on so many difficult and heartbreaking topics. Due to this subject matter I would suggest caution to those who may be triggered by traumatic experiences. Otherwise I would recommend it to anyone looking for a diverse new adult fiction with strong female characters. 

Bout of Books 16 Sign-up and TBR

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Ahhh! Its Bout of Books time once again. And I just realized it.. 2 1/2 hours into the read-a-thon. Thankfully it isn't too late to sign up and jump on board. So here is my sign up page!

I don't have a TBR set for this week (other than my already planned TBR for the Month of May) so I am just going to wing it.

Here goes nothing..

Cover Characteristic: Maps

Cover Characteristic is a weekly meme hosted by Sugar and Snark that showcases book covers with select themes. 

This weeks topic is: MAPS

The Day the World Came to Town: 911 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim Defede shows a map of Newfoundland in the background of this cover. 

Tracie Peterson's Treasures of the North (Yukon Quest #1) features a map of the Yukon on the bottom. 

Classic Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 

The character on the cover of The Mapping of Love and Death (Maisie Dobbs, #7) by Jacqueline Winspear is holding a map. 

And my favourite from this theme: The Great Race by David Hill.

Which one of these covers do you like the best? Let me know in the comments. 

Latest Additions (April 2016)

Today I wanted to share the latest books I have added to my collection during the month of April.

Earlier in the month I got an e-mail from Kobo with a $5 credit to my account to buy whatever I liked on their website. Here are the two books I chose:

I have added several free books to my Kindle for PC:

And last but not least a book I have been anticipating for a year now..

I've been eagerly awaiting the release of this book ever since I read The Imposter last year. #theimposter #revell #bookstagram #bookblogger #suzannewoodsfisher #amishfiction

A photo posted by Melissa Lee (@melissaleesmanyreads) on Apr 29, 2016 at 1:13pm PDT

Smokin' Seventeen (Stephanie Plum #17) by Janet Evanovich

Title: Smokin' Seventeen (Stephanie Plum #17)
Author: Janet Evanovich
Published: November, 2011
Published By: Bantam
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Romance
Date Read: April 12, 2016
Rating: 3/5

Smokin’ Seventeen picks up where Sizzling Sixteen left off; where the bail bonds office once stood is now an empty lot awaiting to be rebuilt and Stephanie is still going from Ranger to Morelli. Then several bodies are unearthed in the empty lot and Stephanie’s mother tries to play cupid again.

Smokin’ Seventeen was an enjoyable continuation of the Stephanie Plum series. I enjoyed that Mooner played a role in this installment, but wished he had a bigger part.

The who-done-it mystery was easy to figure out, but that was to be expected. Unfortunately there wasn’t any character growth, which is also to be expected.

Still I will continue on with this series as I find it amusing. I would recommend this book to those who have read the previous 16+ in the series. 

Click the link below to be taken to the Stephanie Plum series listing on Goodreads:

Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

Monthly Wrap-up: April 2016

Goodbye April and hello May! 

For those of you who frequent my blog, you may have noticed that I have been a bit MIA lately. Although I have been keeping up with my reviews, I haven't been keeping up with my Sunday Wrap-ups or weekly memes. This has been a very challenging month for me to say the least. I have been dealing with some very stressful personal issues that has been keeping me occupied. Hopefully things will start to get better soon and I will began regularly scheduled blog posts. Unfortunately, until then I am just going to keep up with my reading and reviews. 

My one highlight from April was having our first BBQ of the season

First BBQ of the season. #welldone #burnit #springatlast

A photo posted by Melissa Lee (@melissaleesmanyreads) on Apr 17, 2016 at 3:10pm PDT

 If you are on Instagram and would like to follow me, my username is: @mlsmanyreads

My Reading Progress

Even though it has been a challenging month personally, reading has been my escape from reality. I read 4 books in April, which is less than the previous month, but the quality of those I read was high. 

1. Smokin' Seventeen (Stephanie Plum #17) by Janet Evanovich
   Rating: 3/5
   Review Date: May 3, 2016
   
2. The Munich Girl: A Novel of the Legacies that Outlast War by Phyllis Edgerly Ring
   Rating: 5/5
   My Review
   
3. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman 
   Rating: 5/5
   Review Date: TBD
   
4. Days of Grace by Catherine Hall 
   Rating: 3.5/5
   Review Date: TBD
   

The Stats

Favourite Book of the Month:

Favourite Cover of the Month:

Favourite Setting: Savannah Georgia (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)

Favourite Character: Miz Goodpepper (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt)

Total Books Read: 4

Total Number of Fiction Read: 4
Total Number of Nonfiction Read: 0

Formats Read:

Physical Books: 1
eBooks: 2
Audio Books: 1

For the month of May I will be doing an experiment so to speak. Normally I read at least two books at a time; one physical book or one of my Kobo and another on Kindle for PC. Lately I have been also listening to an audio book as well. But for this month I am going to only read 1 book at a time. The reason I want to do this is because I am curious to see if my total monthly books read will be more or less than normal. Perhaps concentrating on one book at a time will get me through the books faster. Only time will tell. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful month of April and wishing everyone a happy may. 

Links:

Hosted by: Book Date

Summer of Roses by Luanne Rice

Title: Summer of Roses
Author: Luanne Rice
Narrated By: Karen Ziemba
Published: May, 2007
Published By: Simon and Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Format Read: Audio Book
Genre: Contemporary, Women's Fiction
Date Read: March 31, 2016
Rating: 3.5/5

Summer of Roses is a continuation of the characters in Luanne Rice’s Summer’s Child. Upon hearing that her grandmother had fallen ill, Lilly comes out of hiding risking the chance of potentially encountering her abusive ex-husband. The man she ran away from without a trace all those years before. The same man she hid their daughter from, taking refuge in an ocean side Nova Scotia town. Meanwhile another abused ex-wife of the same man, is hiding out with her young daughter in the same town.

I picked up the audio version of Summer of Roses from my local library, not realizing that it was a continuation of another story. Had I known this I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. Thankfully the author included some background information on the characters previous situations, so I was able to get an idea of what I missed.

It took me quite some time to get into this story especially that of Lilly’s storyline. I felt like the characters were so overloaded with personal trauma that it didn’t feel believable. I didn’t particularly connect with Lilly, although leaving her abusive husband was the right decision.

The secondary storyline which involved Marissa and her daughter was far more interesting to me. Not only was the location of Nova Scotia captivating, but the excitement around the Celtic music festival really kept my attention. These parts of Summer of Roses are what kept me listening until the end.

I thought that Karen Ziemba did a good job narrating this book and was glad to hear that she didn’t try to overdo the distinctive character voices.

Although I lacked connection with Lilly, I found Luanne Rice’s descriptions of the settings and the season to be quite beautiful. I also thought that the physical descriptions of the characters really helped set the tone of the story.

I look forward to reading more from this author in the future and hope that I have a better connection with some of her other characters. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy contemporary women’s fiction.