Month: September 2014

Review: Words and Their Meanings by Kate Bassett

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Words-and-Their-Meanings-5I really enjoyed this first book from Kate Bassett. The story centers on Anna, a teenager who is having trouble getting over the death of her beloved uncle a year earlier. She copes by doing daily “coffin yoga”, channeling her inner Patti Smith through both her dress and hairstyle, and writing favorite Patti quotes on her arm every day.

Her family is concerned, to put it mildly, but they have turmoil of their own to cope with. Little sis Bea likes to hide in random places, mom and dad are divorced and dad has a new wife/baby on the way, and Gramps is suddenly on the verge of death himself. Anna’s circle of friends is very small, basically her best friend since early childhood, Nat. Complicating things is the introduction of Mateo, who definitely catches Anna’s eye and rocks her world, almost to the point of being normal.

This is a difficult book to fully describe other than to say that it’s quite an unusual young adult/coming of age book. There’s a love story, but that’s not the central element. It’s more about friendship, family, love gained and lost, and moving on. Five stars for me!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Words and Their Meanings

Review: Nest by Esther Ehrlich

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I generally don’t read children’s fiction, but I wanted to read Nest to get an idea of the usefulness of a book about children grieving. I can report with confidence this: I believe Nest would be helpful for 10-14 year olds with a mentally unstable or absent parent. They would see they are not alone, people grieve and cope in myriad ways, and anger is natural. Young readers could see that maintaining connections — family ties, friendships, or even looser relationships — help distract as well as move a person through his or her bucketful of emotions. Moving forward is key.

That’s my opinion as a mother and a former schoolteacher.

My emotional response to Nest was pretty much bawling my eyes out. A child without two loving parents just kills me… though I know it is so, so common. I felt for Chirp and her sister, for Chirp’s friends Dawn and Joey… Why did they have to suffer? Why did their lives have to be upended?

Yet they found ways to cope. They found ways to hope. They found ways to stick together to fill up a little bit of what was missing.

Nest is well-written, from the sentence structure to the easy flow to the authentic characters. The only niggling detail was about prayer: the author had Chirp uncomfortable saying grace before a meal, or saying the name Jesus. But I’m pretty sure Jewish people say grace (to G-d, not Jesus) and they believe Jesus existed, just that he wasn’t the Messiah. Besides that, Nest was wonderful. The 1970s were portrayed just as I remember them, without being contrived or hokey. And though the ending was sad, I finished the book with the thought that those children were going to make it. They had hope, they had strength, and they had each other.

-Calliope
buy NEST

Review: One More Chance, by Abbi Glines

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0101 Abbi has done it again. This book actually bumped my current top AG book down a notch. I was very anxious to read this, after the ending of Take a Chance. I wasn’t very happy with Grant. he needed to redeem himself.

This was emotional and had my heart breaking and skipping a few beats the WHOLE time. Over and over I was blown away by heartaches and spent the last half of the book in near tears. But by the end, they were spilling over.

I am glad Grant was able to get back on track. He is my favorite Abbi Glines BBF. I have loved him, from the moment Blaire pulled the gun on him, a loooong time ago. I knew he was special. I’m so glad we were able to hear his story and see just how special he was.

I may regret saying this, but I may even be a Nanhater no more. She is still cruel, but we get to see a glimpse into what she could be, if she chose to change.

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I can’t wait to read the next few books, in this series!!

~Melpomene

Buy One More Chance: A Rosemary Beach Novel (The Rosemary Beach Book 7)

But first, you must read Take a Chance: A Rosemary Beach Novel (The Rosemary Beach Series Book 6) It’s only $1.99 NOW!!!

Review: The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2) by Robert Galbraith

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I loved The Cuckoo’s Calling (book 1 in the series), and although The Silkworm is GOOD, it isn’t AS good.

What I liked: tiny snippets of Cormoran and Robin navigating a professional relationship that turns platonically personal once in a while; a complex crime; über-developed characters; and the Hercule-Poirot-esque resolution.

What I didn’t like: too much emphasis on Cormoran’s prosthesis and pain; Strike’s character eliciting pity instead of sympathy; maybe a little too much convolution of the crime and criminals– I was confused at some parts; and the gruesomeness of the actual crime.

Galbraith (JKRowling) is an excellent writer with an extensive vocabulary. The masterful character and setting development created a movie in my mind. Impressive.

All in all, I liked it enough to want to read number 3 in the series, whenever it comes out. But I’ll admit it’s a little bit because I want to see if a love story will develop. I’ve seen the bare beginnings… And I’m a sucker for romance.

-Calliope

buy THE SILKWORM

Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

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darkI loved this book from page one. All the way up until the end.

This is the story of Libby Day. As a young girl of seven, Libby’s testimony puts her fifteen year old brother, Ben, in prison for the murder of their mother and two sisters. Libby has spent much of her life as pretty anti-social. She isn’t really a very nice person. Okay…honestly, Libby isn’t even a semi nice person.

This story begins when Libby finds herself suddenly in a position to revisit the events of that night and to finally ask the questions about what really happened. Questions that she has avoided for the past twenty-four years. She finds herself finally face to face with her brother and father for the first time in years.

Because I don’t do spoilers, I will say the only one part of this novel I had issues with is the small part near the very end when Libby has a confrontation with a mother and daughter. One part of that just seemed like it was put in there for nothing other than shock value. I have no issues with the mother and daughter being in the storyline…or even the actual storyline….just some of the actions….but enough….

I did like how Flynn wrapped up the events of that night and the answers that Libby discovered. Perhaps “like” isn’t the correct wording, since, after all, Libby’s mother and sisters were killed….but….

The real reason I wanted to write this review is….well…Flynn really had me thinking….I think everyone can agree, Libby Day is not a very likable person….but at one point…on the day of the murders…Seven year old Libby is sitting down in the back a car drawling circles on a window. It really made me stop and wonder. That one simple glimpse of Libby as a little girl made me forgive her as an adult. How different would Libby be if that night had never happened. What type of adult would that little girl have grown up to be? How about Ben? As an adolescent boy he felt lost and misplaced. He felt isolated. But what teenager doesn’t? If even one of the events that happened to Ben had been changed, what would have happened to all the other events? Just one broken link in the chain of events for him could have made such a huge difference. What could have been avoided? What side of the maze of would he had come out on out of adolescence into adulthood?

Sure, we all know that our experiences and circumstances help to shape us into the person we are today….but for Libby Day it can be narrowed down to one single experience….It is easy to imagine a complete total different life for her had she not experienced that night. So is that an excuse for Libby to use? Or is it a way to forgive her for her actions and behaviour?

Sure, I know….Libby Day is not a real person. She is a character in a book…but look around….how many of the people you don’t like….ones that you pass judgement on….how many of them have that one single life event that might have made them into the person they are today? Perhaps it doesn’t always come from a lifetime of experiences…instead it can be traced to just one….

Again, yes…I realise that many have survived terrible things and they become great people. I’m not saying someone gets a free pass on their behaviour. No matter what happens in life, I strongly believe that we are all responsible for our actions…regardless of the childhoods we had….but it is very easy to see that the Libby Day we saw in this novel was not the same Libby Day that was sitting quietly in the back seat drawing circles on a foggy car window….

So yes….that little girl played a huge part in my forgiving the adult Libby Day for her behaviour….not just to others….but to herself as well….

Thank you Gillian Flynn for putting that scene into this novel….it meant a lot to me….and it has gave me endless hours of thinking….xx

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Review: In Her Wake, by K.A.Tucker

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In Her Wake cover (1) Oh my, Trent. You poor broken soul. Let me start out by saying that even though this is a .5, you MUST read Ten Tiny Breaths beforehand. MUST!! If you don’t, you’ll kind of ruin the surprise in TTB, and you don’t want to do that.

Synopsis
Before you knew him as Trent in Ten Tiny Breaths, he was Cole Reynolds—and he had it all. Until one night when he makes a fatal, wrong decision…and loses everything.

When a drunken night out at a Michigan State college party results in the death of six people, Cole must come to terms with his part in the tragedy. Normally, he’d be able to lean on his best friends—the ones who have been in his life since he could barely walk. Only, they’re gone. Worse, there’s the shattered body of a sixteen-year-old girl lying somewhere in a hospital bed, her entire life ripped from her because of a case of beer and a set of keys.

Everyone assures him that they know it wasn’t intentional, and yet he can’t ignore the weight of their gazes, the whispers behind his back. Nor can he shake the all-consuming guilt he feels every time he thinks of that girl who won’t so much as allow him near her hospital room to apologize. As the months go by and the shame and loneliness festers, Cole begins to lose his grip on what once was important—college, his girlfriend, his future. His life. It’s not until Cole hits rock-bottom that he can begin to see another way out of his personal hell: forgiveness.

And there’s only one person who can give that to him…

This was a very fast read, but it still had all the emotions of a full length novel. K.A.Tucker has created a world around these characters that make you feel as though you truly know them. My heart was breaking for what Trent had to go through. I knew he felt guilty, but never on this level.

Trent had everything he wanted, until one mistake changed the rest of his life. Now he must move on and carry on. Easier said than done. Being the one left behind, and having no one to help him, he find that life is way too hard alone. The brokenness he felt, made my heart hurt. He had guilt, the size of mountains. The ‘What ifs” were almost too numerable to count. No amount of them would bring his friends back. So after months of desperation, he finds a way to come out from the fog and to move on.

I have always loved Trent. He was my favorite TTB character. But watching him like this, was a bit hard for me. I think guy’s POVs are always a bit more emotional for me. I guess, in some backwards ways, guys are supposed to be strong all the time. But it’s not true. This book shows that perfectly.

~Melpomene

Buy In Her Wake: A Ten Tiny Breaths Novella

Get caught up with the Ten Tiny Breaths series
katucker

Ten Tiny Breaths: A Novel

One Tiny Lie: A Novel

Four Seconds to Lose: A Novel

Five Ways to Fall: A Novel

Review: Amity by Michael Ostow

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19141361Did you grow up scared sleepless after watching Amityville Horror? Did you watch it more than once just because you were fascinated yet slightly traumatized by it? Were you interested enough in the true story to do a little bit of research into what really happened in Amityville? If any of the above questions apply to you, this new book by Michael Ostow is definitely a must-read!

This creepy supernatural story plays off the events retold in Amityville Horror. Two horrific tragedies are at play here, separated by a span of ten years. Gwen and her family are the lucky inhabitants of the Amity house ten years after Connor and his family were in residence. And of course, things didn’t end happily ever after for the original inhabitants.

The chapters easily alternate between the two time periods with everything converging at the end. Demonic possession, ghosts, ancient burial grounds, and good old-fashioned human murder all have a starring role. Great for fans of scary good stories, and safe enough for young adult readers. As long as they don’t mind a few sleepless nights, that is!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Amity