Fantasy | macarons & paperbacks

It’s never wise to talk to strangers…and that goes double when they’re dead. Unfortunately, seventeen-year-old Anna Morgan has no choice. Resting on a park bench, touching the turnstile at the Metro station—she never knows where she’ll encounter a ghost. These mental hitchhikers are the reason Anna has been tossed from one foster home and psychiatric institution to the next for most of her life.

When a chance touch leads her to pick up the insistent spirit of a girl who was brutally murdered, Anna is pulled headlong into a deadly conspiracy that extends to the highest levels of government. Facing the forces behind her new hitcher’s death will challenge the barriers, both good and bad, that Anna has erected over the years and shed light on her power’s origins. And when the covert organization seeking to recruit her crosses the line by kidnapping her friend, it will discover just how far Anna is willing to go to bring it down.

The Delphi Effect (The Delphi Trilogy #1) by Rysa Walker
Published October 11, 2017 by Skyscape
Format: e-book/e-audiobook; 379 pages/12 hours
Young Adult / Fantasy / Paranormal
Also By This Author: The CHRONOS Files Series (Timebound, Time’s Edge, Time’s Divide)
Goodreads | Audible | Amazon | Author’s Website
My Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Thoughts

Once again, I bought a Rysa Walker book and then didn’t start reading it until MONTHS later. Let’s just say I was waiting until book 2’s release date was close so that I wouldn’t have to wait long in-between (this is true! I just received an advanced copy of The Delphi Resistance, which comes out next month, so I’ll be starting that ASAP!). My husband actually finished this book before me, and I’m so glad that we both enjoy Rysa’s novels because it’s fun to discuss and digest them together.

This series is more fantastical than I had been expecting. Her previous series is a solid sci-fi tale, and while The Delphi Effect can definitely be classified as sci-fi, it was more in the fantasy/paranormal realm. Our protagonist Anna is able to converse with spirits, particularly spirits of deceased persons who are unable to move on. I guess you can say they are stuck in purgatory, and they try to convince Anna to help them with their unfinished business. Sometimes that unfinished business is easy, like finishing a crossword puzzle or making sure someone’s beloved pet was adopted. But other times Anna has difficult, even dangerous hitch hikers. Such is the case with Molly, a murder victim, and who unintentionally catapults Anna into a secretive government conspiracy.

Rysa Walker is very skilled at world building. She is a history buff, and she always weaves her stories into real-life events. I also love how detailed and intricate she makes her characters’ powers. In The CHRONOS Files, the main character has the genetic ability to time travel. In The Delphi Effect, Anna and many of the characters she meets have supernatural abilities: ability to converse with spirits, power of persuasion, visions of the future, etc. I really enjoyed visualizing all of these different abilities, and I’m very much looking forward to reading more of this series. The Delphi Resistance comes out in October, and the final book, The Delphi Revolution, will probably be released next year.

Audiobook Review

If you’ve ever hesitated about buying a Kindle, let me persuade you (with my supernatural powers of persuasion…): Amazon has this feature called Wispersync. When you buy an e-book, you are then able to purchase the audiobook (at a much cheaper price) and switch back and forth between reading and narration within the Kindle app. I had already bought the first two CHRONOS Files novels when my husband wanted to read them as well, and since he prefers audiobooks so he can listen at work (he does drafting so lucky for him he can put in headphones and tune the office out), I went to buy the Audible version and found out about Whispersync. It cost me between $20-$25 to buy three e-books and the corresponding audiobooks! It usually costs that much for ONE audiobook. I don’t know if this feature is available for every e-book, but it’s worth a try. I don’t even think you really need a Kindle; just an Amazon account and the Kindle app.

Now, onto the audiobook review. Kate Rudd narrates this series, and she narrated The CHRONOS Files as well. I love her narration. She does a great job with the characters’ different voices and accents, and I would be highly inclined to listen to any audiobook that she narrates. Even though I only have an advanced e-book version of The Delphi Resistance, I still plan on buying the published e-book/audiobook copies via Whispersync, especially so my husband can continue listening to the series. I will probably be rereading these books sometime. I already want to reread Timebound because Kate Rudd’s voice reminds me (unsurprisingly) of that story and how much I absolutely adore it.

You May Also Enjoy…

Timebound by Rysa Walker

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

I am so behind in blogging these days. We’ve had lots of friends and family visit us this summer and I always feel guilty about reading and blogging when we have guests (I try not to be too antisocial, even though sometimes I have to escape to my room or the bathroom for a few minutes to myself).

Anyway, at long last I am going to review one of my current favorite things in the whole world: my Book(ish) Box subscription!

Now, I am not exaggerating when I say it took well over a year for me to decide on which subscription box I wanted to sign up for. My husband and I both loved the idea of receiving a goodie box in the mail each month, but neither of us knew which boxes we wanted to sign up for (well, my husband didn’t really struggle with that–I’m the indecisive one). Then, a few months ago, he signed up for The Dollar Beard Club which persuaded me to finally pick a box as well, and I found the perfect one for me: The Book(ish) Box!

Each monthly Book(ish) Box comes with a t-shirt from Appraising Pages and 3-5 bookish home, beauty, and fashion items. You can select different t-shirt styles and sizes, and they are super comfy!

When I discovered this wonderful subscription box I knew I had to sign-up right away! But alas, they were all sold out for that particular month! I am not exaggerating when I say that I was pretty devastated. My husband, being the sweet and thoughtful person he is, secretly emailed the lovely owners of Appraising Pages a long, Victorian-inspired message, asking them if they would have one more box that I could sign up for. He must have won them over with his writing skills because they kindly let me sign up, and I was overjoyed because that month’s theme was Classic novels (MY FAVORITE!).

When my first box arrived, I WAS SO EXCITED to open it. I made myself some tea (because that’s what Classic novels call for, am I right?), and I carefully fangirled over each gift in the box.

June’s Book(ish) Box – Classic Novels

Alice in Wonderland t-shirt (Appraising Pages)
Great Gatsby Notebook (Bugaboo Bear Designs)
Ampersand Ring (A Cute Geek)
Alice in Wonderland Socks (Out of Print)
Magnetic Persuasion bookmark

I wear this ampersand ring nearly every day. It’s not made of metal so it doesn’t tarnish at all, and it fits perfectly on my middle finger :) I also adore the Curiouser and Curiouser shirt and the White Rabbit socks are adorable. The Great Gatsby notebook is made from recycled paper, which is awesome! I recently misplaced the Persuasion bookmark while reading For Darkness Shows the Stars (which just so happens to be a Persuasion retelling), but I’m sure it’s in my couch somewhere!

July and August’s boxes were equally wonderful, and I will share with you some detailed pictures of the Fantasy and Fairy Tale Retelling themed goodies!

July’s Book(ish) Box – Fantasy

J.R.R. Tolkien inspired t-shirt (Appraising Pages)
Saphira Eragon Blend Coffee (Passive Juice Motel)
Fantasy Antler Headband (Night and Day Baby)
Game of Thrones inspired bangle (The Geeky Cauldron)
The Mortal Instruments inspired crossbody tote (Fiction Tea)

I finally drank the Eragon themed coffee earlier this week when we ran out of our usual coffee. It was good! And I absolutely love the crossbody tote bag, even if I haven’t read The Mortal Instruments.

August’s Book(ish) Box – Fairy Tale Retellings

A Court of Mist and Fury t-shirt (Appraising Pages)
Peter Pan Necklace (The Bookish Box)
Beauty and the Beast watercolor bookmar (Lexy Olivia)
Mug inspired by Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Evie Sea)
Disney post-it notes (Appraising Pages)

It’s hard to tell, but the Peter Pan necklace is a thimble with a tiny acorn and the Disney post-it notes say: “Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.” The Beauty and the Beast watercolor book mark is BEAUTIFUL!

If you’re a huge bookworm like me (which, I’m assuming you are since you’re perusing a book blog), you are probably wondering how you can sign up for your own Book(ish) Box immediately!

Here is a link to subscribe: GET A BOOK(ISH) BOX! September’s boxes don’t ship for almost another 2 weeks, and the theme is Literary Ladies (so I’m expecting at least one Hermione themed item!). Hopefully I’ll be quicker at posting a review of that box than I was with my first three boxes :)