Christy Dorrity

Don't read The 2012 Book Blogger's Cookbook if you're hungry. It will have you rushing to the kitchen to eat God knows what and you still will not be satisfied because it's not what's in the book. You've been warned!

This cookbook is an amazing concept. It's the marriage of books, recipes, and book reviews. Each recipe matches a theme or an element of the book it's paired with. We get delicious ideas for food to make while also learning about books and what some book bloggers thought of them. I think it's brilliant. I thought so last year with the 2011 edition and I'm of a same mind with this year's edition.

The books featured are predominantly of the young adult genre with a few middle grade titles and a couple of adult titles thrown in. If I had one suggestion, it would be to add more adult titles for those of us who read more adult books than YA. I can think of some amazing historical fiction titles that would be great in a future Book Blogger's cookbook.

I recommend this cookbook to anyone who loves to cook, or loves food in general, and to those who love books. I'm looking forward to the future editions. Keep them coming, Christy!

… (mer)

I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.

I added this book to my TBR list when I read that it was based in Celtic mythology. I am a huge fan of mythology but most books are based in Greek and Roman mythology, so this was a unique Young Adult fantasy for me to read. I have been hooked by this story and I am official a fan of the series. Christy Dorrity did a wonderful job creating and writing Awakening. This book is not just for young adults but for adults as well. If you are a fan of mythology, fantasy, romance, and mystery than this book is for you. I cannot wait to see what Dorrity does with the next book of the series.… (mer)

I loved this book!

This book was so different from anything I have ever read.

Apparently, after reading the author's bio, I learned that she grew up in the same town that she wrote her book about, and she is a champion Irish dancer, which is why her lingo for the dancing was accurate, which really placed you into the novel because the author really knew her stuff. No flaky descriptions. This was well written.

So on that note, if you don't care for Irish dancing, or Celtic mythology, then this book might not be for you. Like I said before, I have never read a book like this, but I loved it. It was amazing.

Our protagonist is a teenage girl, McKayla. She loves to dance, has a typical high school crush, sweet best friend, loving family, and crazy aunt. But McKayla is special. Strange things are going on, and through the help of McKayla's gifted aunt, she learns of her own special abilities. A creepy woman is sneaking around town and has a foul purpose that McKayla's aunt is trying to unearth.

There is just something so unique about this story. The author focuses a lot on dance and the emotions behind it. A mysterious lame janitor has a remarkable ability to dance, and McKayla is drawn to him and the emotion behind his moves.

The scary lady keeps showing up, and circumstances become dangerous. We never really learn anyone's motivation right away. I think that is why I was drawn. I feel that the protagonist's own emotion at discovering her music and her new gift pulled me along.

Until all of a sudden, disaster strikes, and that's when I knew I loved this novel. Hero's emerge, magic reveals, and the mysteriousness blossoms. I hope you like banshees. They are in this novel, and it is cool and scary. The author brought in the element of mythology and a whole other world. Oooo, and there is a dragon. I think that gives too much away. But the novel is so magical. I think that some readers might be put off by all the dancing, but it only made the novel better. The dancing was a way for the main character to learn her abilities, so for me, it worked, and I grew with the character.

I will most certainly be reading the next books and checking out more by this author.

Written very well, smooth language, quick read. Clean read. Great for 13 year olds and up.… (mer)

Review first published on fefferbooks.com. A free advanced reader copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. The review below is in no way influenced by this consideration.

I have to be honest: as eager as I am to read books written by friends of friends, it always makes me a little nervous. Will it be any good? Will I have to force myself to finish? Will I have to find something nice to say about it so my friend doesn’t feel bad for asking me to read it?

I was so thrilled (and relieved) to have that concern thrown right out the window, just a couple of chapters into Awakening by Christy Dorrity. I wasn’t just pleasantly surprised–I was downright shocked by Dorrity’s talent and ability. Awakening is a self-published book, which can have a certain stigma in the industry. Honestly? I would never have guessed that Dorrity published Awakening on her own. It’s impeccably edited and beautifully developed. But the proof is, as they say, in the pudding.

Dorrity has a great gift for writing: her characters are varied in nearly every way imaginable, and her story is just plain fun. Let me be the first to say that I’m not usually much for books about “magic,” and the cover didn’t necessarily appeal to me. There is, though, a great deal more to this book: it’s really a story about finding one’s talents and abilities, and caring for the people you love most. Dorrity spends the greater portion of the book developing relationships between the characters, which serves to further the plot. I was particularly fond of Rourke, the taciturn but deeply protective janitor.

Dorrity’s real talent lies in relating the psychology of her characters: she is excellent at capturing the complex emotions that make up being a teenager. I was particularly impressed by her ability to convey deep, profound communication with her characters’ subtle gestures and body language. I think it must take a high degree of observation to be able to translate such tiny but significant things into writing. Such is Dorrity’s gift.

I’m excited to see how well this book does. I’m still not quite sure about all the magic and world-building that happens at the very end (but if you’re into magic/mythology/Ireland, you will be NUTS for it), but I can’t say enough good about Dorrity as a writer. Awakening hits shelves today, and I think it has huge potential. Go! Buy! Read!

Squeaky clean, with a sweet love story. 4 stars.… (mer)