A Community? *heavy sigh* Yeah, Right.

 

*Disclaimer: there will be some heavy language in this post so if that offends you, you’ve been warned. Also, this post may seem ramb-ly so bear with me. *



     I haven’t blogged in three months.

     It’s not because of college, work, or because my life has been hectic, although those things had a hand in it. I stopped blogging because I no longer felt like I was part of the book community. I felt like posting would have done nothing but anger people no matter what, because lately (aka the last year) the book community I had come to love has turned into a community divided. However, there is a common thread throughout the divided parts: hatred, judgement, and closed-minds.

     I stopped blogging and participating heavily on Twitter for three months because I was sick and tired of all the (excuse my language) bullshit going on in the community. I am still sick and tired of it. I am sick of the arguing, the name calling, the fighting, and all sides of the community making each other feel bad for being themselves and thinking their own thoughts. The book community is no longer the safe haven I once knew it as; it is now a place where your every thought, word, and even reading preference is scrutinized and if the majority doesn’t like it? Well, sorry Charlie, you are shit out of luck. I no longer feel like I can freely express myself without stepping on toes or someone getting pissed off. That is not a community I want to be a part of. Over the past few months, I have lost people I considered to be close and long-time friends because they didn’t agree with me on certain issue or topics (or so I assume from the tweets I read). They never approached asked me about it or bothered to see my side of things. They just…cut me out. They have a right to do that, of course, but I would have expected more from people who I called friends.

     You have a right to disagree with me, to not like me, etc., but nowadays, that isn’t enough for some in this community. No one can just quietly or respectfully disagree anymore. They have to spread the word about how horrid you are and you have to withstand people you don’t even know calling you horrible names. You have to lose close friends and be slammed by authors who you once respected. It’s not like I know from personal experience or anything. *Sarcasm* In case you didn’t catch that.

     Anyway. I just wanted to express how damaging and harmful this community has become for me over the past year or so. I can no longer jump onto Twitter expecting to see people talking about the books they love or just sharing their love for books. I jump onto Twitter now to fighting and hatemongering. There is a clear difference between fighting and debating. Debating is done with a clear goal to understand each side of things and possibly come up with a solution. Fighting is done with nothing but chaos in mind. You can respectfully debate. You cannot respectfully fight someone. No one is debating on Twitter, there is only chaotic fighting to say “my way is the ONLY way”. Calls for kindness are silenced quickly because apparently there is too much kindness in the world already, respect is quickly shot down in the name of making a point, and understanding wasn’t even in the damn mix to begin with. That is what this community has turned into to me.

     Just from what I have said so far, I GUARANTEE that I pissed someone off. Someone will take my words out of context or read too heavily into them and BOOM, something to get angry about. However, this post isn’t to silence anyone or intentionally piss someone off; it’s to call for a change. Because this community needs to change or else it won’t help anyone; it will only hurt, just like it is doing now. This community claims to be accepting, but it truly only accepts you if you comply and agree or gracefully change yourself to fit a certain mold. For a community claiming to be accepting, it isn’t very open to change or opposing opinions, is it? I want, no, I NEED that to change or else I will have no other community to turn to. This community has turned me off of reading and blogging aka doing what I love. I no longer feel accepted or welcome in this community, and THAT is not right. The whole demeanor and attitude of this community needs to change because I guarantee that I am not the only one brought down by the dark clouds hanging over this community.

     I no longer think, “The book community? It’s amazing, the people there are so nice and they are basically another family.”

     I now think, “The book community? *heavily sighs*”

     It’s exhausting. It needs to change. Things need to be better and the people need to become the accepting group they claim to be. I’m trying my hardest to be respectful, accepting, and kind to everyone I talk to. If I can do it (someone who has been through some shit on this site from a LOT of people), why can’t everyone else? Kindness and respect shouldn’t be so hard to master, but that’s the world we live in, unfortunately.

     I have no idea what I manage to accomplish with this post except to let the world know how fed up I am with everything.

     So.

     Be kind and show respect, even if you don’t agree, because you are talking to another human being who has a heart and feelings that can be hurt.

     Laters.

REVIEW + GIVEAWAY: The Naked Tree by Morgan Lee J.!

Hello, my lovelies!

     Today, I have a special treat for you. Don’t say I never gave you something for Halloween! I am going to share my review of a great indie sci-fi fantasy novel, The Naked Tree, with you as well as sweeten the pot with a possible winning of said book and more awesome goodies! Read on to see what I thought of The Naked Tree by Morgan Lee J.!

Author: Morgan Johnson

Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi/ Fantasy

Date Published: October 31st

Publisher: Redeemer's Ink Publishing

Page Number: 276

Synopsis:

It was one small taste that transformed the entire history of our world. Colette is Vaporless, an Outlander. No worth. No value. All because she lacked the sweet nectar of The Tree, and her heart had an extra piece. The land of Alvon is suspended high above the Earth, a judgment placed on it by God Himself nearly two ages ago. The story all began with the creation of the couple Adamek and Eviya and a lie spun by a serpent, named Levi. After creating Alvon in their own image, a world deeply rooted in technology and pleasure. Their very lives depend on the fruit and energy given to them by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but suddenly the tree begins to reject them. Slowly, the Tree starts to deteriorate causing all the humans to deteriorate as well. Eviya pinpoints the cause of the decay of The Tree and points the finger at Colette. On her journey to self-discovery, Colette meets Rowan, the leader of R.I.S.K. The two band together, emotional feelings ensue. With the entire land of Alvon against them, R.I.S.K. sets off toward Ilan to search for an answer. Will Colette survive?

 

Review:

 

     This sci-fi fantasy book is full of action, adventure, emotion, mystery, and everything else that makes you love a book. From start to finish, this book keeps you in suspense, and it’s awesome. This is not one of those that is just full of action to cover up for a lack in another area. Oh, no. This book has it all, and the abundance of excitement in this book is just the cherry on top of the cake. The book starts off, and you are immediately immersed in Colette’s journey and emotions. This is not a book that you have to force yourself to read at first to get into the story; the book starts, and you are hooked. Morgan knows how to write a great story. This book is proof of that. The emotions this book incites are varied and strong. I felt an immediate connection to Colette, and when she felt something, I was right there with her. It was pretty awesome. The characters are another huge part that I loved about this book.

     Colette is a head-strong, determined, secretly emotional, and awesome character. She actually reminds me a lot of Aelin Galathynius from the Throne of Glass series, and most of you know that I love that badass. As I said above, once I started the book, I felt as if me and her had a connection that only great writers can invoke. She goes through a lot of terrible things, but she uses those situations to propel herself forward and changes everything including the very world she lives in. She was not afraid to venture out and risk her life for the people she loved, which is a characteristic that I love in a character. She is the kind of heroine that everyone loves. Then we have the male interest of the story, Rowan, who is a very complicated and fascinating character that immediately catches your attention. He is a force to be reckoned with, and pared with Colette, makes for a pretty awesome story. The side characters were all interesting too, and they did not even come across as the side characters that they were. They all had their own unique personalities that shined through the story. Another thing that I really love about the characters in this book is that they are all diverse in every aspect of life. This book contains characters of different races, beliefs, personalities, etc. and that paired with a fascinating plot makes for one hell of a book.

     The one and only things that I would have liked done differently is the second POV from the truinity. I am not usually a fan of multiple POVs, but in the end, it didn’t take away from the story but added more. That is just a personal preference of mine.

     I usually stay away from Sci-fi fantasy books because they often use terminology that goes way over my head, but this book isn’t like that. It is also a book that rivals those that have been on the NYT bestseller list, in my opinion. I just fell into this book and held on for the awesome ride that it was. I am so glad that Morgan reached out to me about her book. The whole concept she created, which I could tell was loosely inspired by Christianity, was genius and also heartbreaking. The ending of this book ripped my heart out, and I hope and pray that there is a second book coming soon because if there isn’t, I might riot.

     Just know that this book is amazing and that you need to read it ASAP. (Which is possible because there is a giveaway for this gem at the end of this blog post!) Is it obvious that I give this book five out of five stars yet?

**Trigger warning for the book: rape (not terribly graphic, but the act is there)

*********

     There you have it, my review of The Naked Tree. Now, time for the part that you all have been waiting for, the giveaway! Enter the giveaway full of awesome goodies (bookmarks, the book, and other bookish goodies) from the Rafflecopter below, and may the odds be ever in your favor. (Sci-fi humor, anyone?)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Starflight by Melissa Landers Review!

Author: Melissa Landers

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Date Published: February 2nd, 2016

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Page Number: 369

Synopsis:

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

 

Review:

     I just finished Starflight by Melissa Landers, and I am in shock. I had NO idea that I would love this book so much. From start to finish, this book had me hooked because Solara and Doran are the kind of characters that capture your attention and then capture your heart. At first, I hated Doran, and that's kind of why I loved this story because as time went on I got to see the real side of Doran, which was so lovable and amazing. I love stories that make me seriously change feelings about a character like that. That just shows how great the character development is in this story. Then we have Solara, who acts like a hard and unemotional person, but as the story went on, we get to see just how vulnerable and caring she really is. I fell in love with all of the Banshee crew members, honestly.

     This book was full of emotion, action, adventure, romance, serious character development, humor, mystery, and anticipation. I did NOT expect this book to satisfy me like it did. As most of you may or may not know, I usually don't read sci-fi book because in my experience, the featured topics are way over my head, use hard to understand technical language, or they just don't feature a story line that I like. However, this is probably one of my favorite if not THE favorite sci-fi books I've ever read. It had all the sci-fi elements that you love like space travel, space pirates, laser weapons, different worlds, etc. what I love about it most (apart from the characters that is) is that Landers doesn't feel the need to use tons of technical science language or anything like that to describe the atmosphere of the book or things that are happening. I didn't feel the need to have a dictionary close by like I did in the past with sci-fi books, and that was awesome. Anyway, for someone who doesn't usually like sci-fi books, the fact that I adore this one is shocking AND it should tell you that it's freaking amazing.

     I had so much fun reading this book from beginning to end, and I am SO glad that I picked this book up because it is a book that any genre lover would love. It has everything a book lover could ever ask for in it, and that's what makes it amazing. It's a plus that there is romance in there too because I love a good romance element, especially with Solara and Doran. Man, do I love those two. I seriously wish I had more time with them. I didn't want Starflight to end because I was having so much fun and I was so hooked on the story.

     Needless to say, I freaking love this book, and it took my mind away from my currently stressful life, for which I am also grateful for. If you are looking for an awesome book to read that allows you to get away from the world and your problems, then this is the book for you. It will take you on a wild ride and you will love every minute of it. I give Starflight five out of five stars!!