Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello

"She was letting go of a dream she’d had since she was a child- her very own mama- and she didn’t have anything to replace it with."

Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello has a rags to riches premise- Gracie Calloway discovers on her 25th birthday that she is actually the heiress to a 650 million dollar fortune. Gracie was kidnapped as a an infant and left on a porch in a coal bucket in Alabama where she grew up. Gracie's biological father never gave up searching for her, and when dies she is left his massive fortune. Unfortunately after having been treated badly by rich people growing up and having been looked down on since her unwed mother abandoned her, Gracie is not at all interested in accepting the money. She quickly learns that nothing, including money, is as simple as she thinks. 

Although the Southern aspect of Salting Roses was charming at times, the book never captured my heart. What I didn't enjoy is exactly what many readers will love about this book- a budding romance between two hard headed individuals, Gracie and Sam (the man sent to deliver news of her fortune) took up a significant portion of the book. I honestly thought I was picking up a book about family, not about love, and romance novels are not something I tend to read. In addition, I didn't particularly like Gracie and although I could pretend to fall for the fairy-tale idea that she randomly inherited all this money- I never quite believed that she would refuse to accept it. There was a lot of talk about her resentment of rich people, but when it comes down to it, I'm not sure any author could really convince me that a person would be not only be willing, but desire to give up that much money although Marinello did make obvious examples of how the money was a problem. I definitely found truth in the fact that money changes the way people look at you, and that when it comes down to it's only dirty paper, but it certainly makes life a whole lot easier.

I did love the Southern charm the novel had, the way people spoke to each other, and especially the relationships between Gracie and the two men and one woman who raised her. Although the woman, Alice, was really pushy and not particularly somebody I'd like to know, as she continually pressed the importance of Gracie getting married, the men were lovely in spite of their faults, especially since the reader can sense that they were really just trying to do what they thought was best for Gracie. In particular, Artie, her fake uncle and father-figure was really wonderful to read about. Ultimately, I think Salting Roses was the wrong book for me and would better suit somebody looking for a Southern love story who doesn't mind suspending belief in order to allow for a little magic. **

Buy it
Number of Pages: 384 pages
Published: November 2010
Source: 

This review was a part of TLC Book Tours. Click here to read what other tour hosts thought. For the purpose of this review I was provided with a copy of the book which did not require a positive review. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own.     

Books of 2010 I Wish I Hadn't Read- Young Adult

I've noticed a definite trend, three of my five least-favourite books of the year involve vampires, and a fourth one is fantasy. So remind me to stay away from the paranormal in 2011- there are plenty of people who love it, but I'm not one of them.

5. Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block (Review)

Francesca Lia Block is an author who's every book I'd check out from the library in highschool, so when I was rediscovering YA I wanted to catch up on those I'd missed, which included the vampire story Pretty Dead. Although the book contains some lovely vivid description that Block is known for, as well as a gorgeous cover, overall Pretty Dead is an unoriginal book in a genre that really needs a rest.

4. Prom Nights From Hell by Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephanie Meyer and Lauren Myracle (Review)

I absolutely love short stories, and I really enjoy YA, but I hadn't really combined those two loves before I read Prom Nights From Hell. Now I realize there's probably a reason for that, as the majority of the stories in this book were very poorly developed and incomplete. They mostly seemed more like novel excerpts than actual short stories, which is great if you love the authors who are included but since I'd only read one of their novels before (Meyer) and I didn't actually enjoy them, my experience with the book varied from okay to extremely bad.

3. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer (Review)

I almost didn't add The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner because it was 100% my fault for picking it up even though I didn't enjoy the Twilight Series. Well suffice it to say I didn't enjoy this book either, and although Bree is a slightly stronger main character than Bella she still manages to fall in love to the point that she's willing to risk her life for a guy she's known about ten minutes. On the bright side, well, some of the profit from this book went to charity- although I'd certainly recommend donating directly, you'd probably get a nice calender that's less annoying than this book.

2. Serendipity Market by Penny Blubaugh (Review)

I was hoping for the charm and magic of some of Francesca Lia Block's better works when I picked up Serendipity Market, but what I found instead was a dozen lacklustre fairytale retellings with an unclear connection. This was definitely a case of the beautiful cover being more aesthetically enjoyable than reading the contents of the novel, so I think it would make function better as paperweight. 

1. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (Review)

Unfortunately I actually found The Boy In The Striped Pajamas insulting to the young readers at which it was aimed that often made a joke out of extremely serious historical matters and seemed poorly researched overall. It made my list as the number one book I wish I hadn't read because not only did I not enjoy it, but I was actually offended by it which rarely happens to me even with bad literature.  

Do you agree or disagree with any of the books that made my list? What YA books do you wish you hadn't read this year?

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday

The blog hop is hosted by Jen from Crazy for Books.

This weeks question is: What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the characters?

Although both plot and characters can be important, I find it really hard to enjoy a good plot if I don't appreciate the characters. I'm also a big fan of literary fiction in which plot doesn't play a key role in the novel so I'm going to have to side with characters in this debate.

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee 

This week's question: What did you study in college, or are currently studying and did it lead to your current 9 to 5 or are you doing something totally different?

I'm actually still in college. I'm a first year masters student in biological sciences with my area of research being plant epigenetics. And yes, I'm a huge nerd.  I'm hoping for a future in research either in an academic setting like a university or government lab. Hopefully I can find something I love, but I definitely still have quite a few more years of school left first! Reading and blogging are some of the ways I relax and work parts of my brain dedicated to things beside science.

While you're visiting my blog don't forget to enter to win Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank. Also let me know if you're a new follower so I can make sure to stop by :) Happy Friday everyone and welcome to In The Next Room.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Graphic Novel)

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was originally published in 1988 and has since become a worldwide success. It is the story of a boy, Santiago, who became a shepherd to travel but then sells his sheep to head towards the Egyptian pyramids and find a treasure he has dreamed of. Not knowing what the treasure even is, he is forced to rely on himself and his faith to get him through the journey and the obstacles he will face. However along the way Santiago encounters many people including a man who says he was a king, a man who sells crystal, an alchemist, and a beautiful woman. As Santiago travels far from his homeland he learns to trust others despite being wronged, learns to follow his own personal legacy, and finally realizes that all he wanted was closer than he ever imagined.

I originally read The Alchemist as part of an extremely short-lived high school book club about six years ago, and I absolutely loved the book at the time. Earlier this year I picked up Coelho's Veronika Decides to Die and found once again both a powerful message and distinct ability to observe the world- so I certainly had high expectations for this adaption.  The illustrations in The Alchemist were gorgeous but personally the graphic novel lacked the power that the written version had. I felt like portions of the book the reader is able to soak up in the novel were simply skimmed over in the graphic novel and the power of Coelho's words were diminished. This was the first time I had read a graphic novel and so that was definitely a unique experience, but I found that as lovely as the illustrations were they didn't add anything to the book and I'm not sure how successful The Alchemist would be if the reader hadn't already read the novel. This is definitely a case where I'd recommend reading the full version first, and if you enjoy it then definitely pick up the adaption, as it is very well rendered but the graphic novel of The Alchemist just quite measure up to the original. 

Buy it
Number of Pages: 384 pages
Published: November 2010
Source: 

This review was a part of TLC Book Tours. Click here to read what other tour hosts thought. For the purpose of this review I was provided with a copy of the book which did not require a positive review. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own.     

Outside the Ordinary World Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for Outside the Ordinary World. The winner has been selected:

Congratulations Sara- it looks like you got your wish!

If you didn't win, you can still pick up the book with free shipping world at the Book Depository.

Now a reminder for everyone to enter for a chance to win Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank which finishes on the 19th, if you haven't already. And because I feel like sharing, I'll end this post with a joke:

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender asks, "Why the long face?" The 
horse doesn't respond because it is a horse. It can neither speak nor 
understand English. It is confused by its surroundings and gallops out 
of the bar, knocking over a few tables.