Month: August 2015

Review: Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner

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who-do-you-love-9781451617818_hrJennifer Weiner sure does know how to write a love story. And while it’s true that not all of her books fall into this category, I think it’s fair to say that this is where she truly excels as an author. Her newest novel adds another winner to that list.

Rachel and Andy meet for the very first time when they’re just eight years old. Although they’re both patients at a hospital, that’s where the similarities end. Rachel comes from a well-to-do, stable family. Andy, on the other hand, is the child of a single mother who spends much of her time working to support their family of two. That chance encounter at such a young age makes a mark on each of them, and when they meet again so many years later the sparks definitely fly. And so it goes over time. They meet by happenstance time and again. Their relationship is reignited, but without fail something happens to drive them apart.

So this is a love story, without a doubt. And it’s romantic and heart-tugging at times. But it’s a love story that spans several decades, tells a story of love that persists despite all odds. And it’s not wrapped up all nice and neat in a pretty little package. There are definite bumps along the way, and some of those bumps are as big as sinkholes. But still. It’s a story that pulls you in and makes you love the characters in spite of their very real flaws. You want both of them to win, and you want them to get their happily ever after. Do they? You’ll have to read the book to find out…

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Who Do You Love: A Novel

Review: The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham

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Alrighty then. I didn’t expect that! Here’s a small Australian town with an outcast woman living uphill from a burning garbage heap, and the outcast’s daughter coming back after twenty years. For what? I think she misses her mom. Tilly does the good daughter thing, cleans up her incoherent and dysfunctional mother as well as the house she subsists in, and tries to find her place in a town that never wanted her. 

And then Tilly starts making beautiful dresses for the townspeople – because she’s a talented pro with haute couture training.  And they don’t pay her. And then we find out why Tilly left and why they all hate her so much. Personally I think they hate themselves and take it out on Tilly. 

A new dressmaker arrives on Tilly’s heels and seems to turn the town upside down. Maybe her flawed dresses symbolize the townspeople’s real characters: uneven, backwards, trying to be something they’re not. 

And from there on the story is a whirlwind of crazy. Affairs, financial ruin, secrets, deaths. I’m not sure how it all happened… I certainly didn’t expect any of it! 

It’s dark and grim and clever and funny. And if it’s a mirror of life, it’s downright scary. A smart – and bizarre – read. 

-calliope

Buy THE DRESSMAKER: A NOVEL

Review: Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino

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01 here How does one put into words a book like this? It was happy and sad, uplifting and devastating. I am typing and crying, and yet, my heart is full.

This book will leave you emotionally satisfied and physically drained, but your heart will thank you for it. It makes you look closely at your life at all the “what ifs” and “If I’d only knowns.”

A lot can happen in 15 years. You can fall in love and break hearts. You can move up in the world and be accomplished. You can have a completely fulfilled life, and then you catch a glimpse of someone from your past, and all of this means nothing.

SYNOPSIS
During their senior year of college, in an NYU dorm tucked into the heart of the East Village, Grace and Matt struck up a friendship over Jeff Buckley, Pearl Jam, and the Ramones. She was going to be a world-class cellist and he was going to be a famous photographer, their paths destined to diverge after graduation.

Even after an afternoon pub crawl ended in their drunken, spontaneous wedding, their visions for the future never overlapped enough for them to be together. The summer after college, he left his “ex-wife” on good terms and went to Brazil to work for National Geographic. They vowed to stay in touch and see each other soon.

They never did.

Fifteen years later, back in New York City, Matt sees Grace as she boards the J train. They’re both different in a hundred ways, and yet they’re still the same. But just as they recognize each other, just as he understands what he left behind all those years ago, the train pulls away. His only recourse is to send a missed connections letter out in the world, and hope she remembers where to look.

When we first see Matt he seems unhappy with his current life. Even though he’s an award winning photographer and has a fabulous job, there is something missing. And one night, on his way home, he catches a glimpse of that missing piece. Grace.

This book takes you into the past. We see how Grace and Matt meet and fall in love and fall apart. It was a beautiful tragedy. Bad timing all around. They were perfect for each other. They never wanted to be separated. But life and school has a way of pulling even the closest of people apart. My gosh, they had a connection. I loved watching them together. They were hilarious. They were sweet. They were meant to be together. Forever. But sadly, that wasn’t in the cards for them.

The book was in dual pov, but I loved seeing it from Matt’s. He loved Grace so much and when he saw her, all his memories come crashing back and he discovers, through discussing it with the people around him, that there were so many missed connections that he had no idea how to make heads or tails of them. The past is the past, and you have to move on. But how can you move on and forward, when you’re missing half of your heart. It was given away 15 years ago.

As you read this book, you catch things that make you sit make and wonder why. Why didn’t they try harder? Why didn’t they keep looking? Why did she not push? Why did he settle? At one point it all comes crashing down around them and the pieces are scattered. But through all that, they decide to start picking up the pieces. The hurt and loss become clear and they need to decide if it’s been too long, or can move on from the last 15 years. Will life give them a second chance?

~Melpomene

Release Date August 18, 2015
Buy Before We Were Strangers: A Love Story

Musing: Wanting to Love a Book, and ‘Tisn’t Cooperating

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So I’m reading an advance copy of The Dressmaker, and the premise is terrific. The characters crack me up with their sly humor, and my heart breaks for Tilly as she has been excluded and harassed for all of her life. I love the setting, too, and the eccentricities and quirks of small-town living. 

But the formatting. Argh. Take a look at the photo above. The first few pages of each chapter have formatting issues so bad that I can barely read the sentences. I’m sure I’m missing something important to the story. 

And the plot development is killing me. Get to the point already! It seems like the several subplots are going somewhere… But WHERE?! 

Do you know what I’m talking about? Have you ever started a book and it starts to disappoint you, but you hold out and keep reading? 

I’m already in 50%, so I’m going to finish it. But I so hope it improves, because so far it’s just a book I Want To Love. 

-calliope

Review: The Casualties by Nick Holdstock

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23014701I have so many great books on my TBR list that it’s not often I read books I don’t like. However, that doesn’t mean I limit myself to well know authors or sure fire proven winners. Some of my best reads were books that no one I knew had read. Glancing at the blup of this book I thought it had real potential.

What can I say….this will probably be my lowest rated book this year. Damn it! I hate it when that happens…when you read a book and you just know it will be the low point of the year. I’ve spent some time trying to figure out why I disliked it so much. Really, dislike is a strong word. I didn’t dislike it so much as I just didn’t care for it. It was a very flat read for me. It didn’t excite me. It didn’t leave me wanting to rush through it to find out how it ends. It didn’t have me wanting to slow down and savory every word. Once I bonded with a character they would do something really strange that weirded me out and I couldn’t get past it enough to like them or be interested in them. Then there are the characters I just didn’t get enough insight to even feign interest in them.

After reading the book and being somewhat disappointed I rushed to read the other reviews to see why they loved it so much. Hmmmmmmm….nothing to enlighten me there either…Granted, there aren’t many out there as the book has yet to be published at this time….but what I saw gave me no insight as to why they rated the book so high….

Alas….I guess that’s just how it is sometimes….as really, I can’t give much insight to why I didn’t enjoy it as much….nothing in it made me passionate to hate it either (I sometimes love books that I hate! Just to know they can get such raw emotions from me is something!)….there just wasn’t much inspiration in this novel for me….it was like mushy potatoes….yes, you can eat them….but you neither love them or hate them…they are just something to fill you up until the next great meal comes along….

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now The Casualties by Nick Holdstock

Review and Giveaway: Better When He’s Brave

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01bwhb Titus is a cop. He’s a good cop who always does the right thing. Never illegal. But this time around he needs to walk a fine line and rely on those, who don’t always work on his side of the law, in order to keep his girl safe.

I’m a sucker for cops. But I’m really a sucker for hot, bossy cops, and Titus King fits the bill perfectly. That man has been so focused on the job and so used to doing things his way, that when Reeve walks back into his life, he’s no way prepared for what is coming.

When Reeve walks in his door and lays down a plan to help him, he is forced to protect her in order to take down the latest criminal, who’s trying to destroy The Point. But being in close proximity with her is messing with his body. He doesn’t want to want her. He wants her gone. She’s caused enough trouble for him and his family. But the longer she stays the longer he’s pulled into her.

The Point has been a dangerous place. But when Reeve comes, it jumps up a notch and seems to follow her and pretty soon the people around them are going to start paying for it. So Titus is on a mission. Keep the girl alive. Protect his family. Do whatever it takes, even if it cost him his life.

I was FREAKING out, when I read the prologue. Seriously. I love Titus and to see him in that situation, was very nerve wrecking. In fact, throughout the entire book I was stressing. Craziness on every corner was pulling him down. He is the job. But when Reeve started to creep into his life, I saw the man, not the cop. And watching them grow closer, amidst the turmoil, was perfect. Even with all the bad things happening, love manages to still creep in.

~Melpomene

Buy Better When He’s Brave: A Welcome to the Point Novel
Get caught up with the rest of the Point gang:
Better When He’s Bold: A Welcome to the Point Novel
Better When He’s Bad: A Welcome to the Point Novel

EXCERPT
“Everyone has a breaking point.”
I sounded gruff and really had to concentrate on getting the words out because she leaned forward and her lips hit right below my ear on my rough jaw. Her teeth started to nibble and her tongue lapped a long wet trail all the way up behind my ear where she breathed, “I would love to see you when you reach yours.”

She curled a hand around the back of my neck and rubbed her cheek against mine. When I let my monster have at her, it took in giant mouthfuls, gobbled her up, and tried to burn as fast and as hot as the pleasure would allow. She wasn’t kidding when she said hers needed to be soothed. Every move she made was deliberate, erotic. We touched everywhere and somehow it was more intimate than all the times I had been inside of her over the last month. She brushed her chest against my own and I decided the playing field needed to level out a little, so I hooked my hands under her shirt and lifted it up off over her head. Her hair fell back down around us like a dark curtain and I grabbed her face so I could kiss her. She blinked at me with big eyes and smiled.

“You are the only one that sees it, over and over again. You were the breaking point from the moment you walked in the door to tell me you helped Novak grab Dovie. I wanted to be disgusted, to hate you, but I didn’t. I thought you were beautiful and resilient. You seemed so misguided and lost, and even then I wanted to get you naked and fuck you on my desk.”

Her face lowered to mine and our lips touched just a tiny bit. One of her hands skated down the center of my chest and landed on my belt buckle. I reciprocated by popping the clasp on the back of her bra and pulling it out of my way.

“You should’ve tried. I would’ve let you.” The words danced across my lips and somewhere in the center of my chest an animal howled in delight. That was what was missing in my life. Someone that appreciated all the sacrifice, the hard choices I had made to become the man I was, but who could also appreciate the fucked-up kid I had been.

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Review: How to Say I Love You Out Loud by Karole Cozzo

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How_to_Say_I_Love_You_Out_Loud_for_sitejpgModern-day readers are very fortunate. No matter what situation-ailment-predicament-life event they find themselves in, there’s a book for it. Nonfiction if they’re after factual information, fiction if they want to simply lose themselves in a story. And it’s the same for young adult readers. Almost every possible scenario has been imagined, everything from bullying to living with a mental illness. It’s not as common, however, to find a book that tells the story from the perspective of a family member. This wonderful book from Karole Cozzo does just that.

The story is told from the point of view of Jordan, a young girl living with a secret. To her it’s a terrible secret, one that’s led to embarrassment and isolation in the past. But it’s not something she can control. Her younger brother Phillip has autism, and it pretty much governs everything that goes on in her family. From family outings to alone time spent with her mom, it all revolves around Phillip and his unpredictable, ever-changing moods.

She survives by keeping a definite separation between home and school. A student at an elite school, she gets by well enough. She’s active in sports and does well enough academically. But she keeps her friends at arms-length, never letting down that boundary between the outside world and her home life. While not an ideal solution, it works for Jordyn. Until Phillip is unexpectedly and unavoidably transferred to her school. Now all her worst fears come true as the lines between home and school are crossed. And Jordyn has to confront some hard truths about herself. Is she using Phillip as an excuse to not let others into her life?

It’s hard to like Jordyn at first because she’s so hard on herself and her family. She’s embarrassed of Phillip, even to the point of pretending to not even know him. Most of us would find that inexcusable. But she’s a teenage girl, and that says a lot. Being a teen is hard enough, especially in an elite school. It’s entirely understandable to see how she’d want a little bit of normalcy, one area of her life that isn’t ruled by Phillip.

This was an outstanding story. It’s plausible and realistically written, and the descriptions of Phillip’s behavior as a person with autism ring true. It will hit home for anyone affected by autism, but will have readers of all kinds hooked until the very end.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: How to Say I Love You Out Loud

Review: Rome in Love by Anita Hughes 

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I loved Lake Como by Anita Hughes and was so excited for another great summer read set in Italy. 

Rome in Love is the story of Amelia Tate, movie star on location in Rome. She meets a handsome man, and then needs to resolve a couple of challenges: one, she told him she was a maid; two, she has a fiancé; three, she keeps drinking too much champagne and passing out in the handsome man’s presence. 

Hughes includes flashbacks to Audrey Hepburn via letters from Hepburn to a friend, and she also writes a subplot involving a princess who falls in love with someone other than the pre-arranged Prince-to-be. 

I loved the on-location descriptions and “seeing” the sights with Amelia, Philip, Sophie, Theo, Veronique, and Greg. Traveling in Italy was wonderful — and no jet lag for me! 

While I enjoyed all the threads of Rome in Love, it could have used some editing. It seemed every chapter began with a description of someone’s attire, with lots of brand-name-dropping… and most chapters ended with Amelia falling asleep. Too repetitive for me. Also, how many times does a young woman get drunk, pass out, and find herself in the same strange man’s apartment before she decides to stop? She was in a foreign country! I had to suspend my disbelief just a little too much.  

Nonetheless, I was so enamored with the romantic gazes over espresso and the delicious food descriptions that I’ll be reading the next Anita Hughes novel, for sure!

-calliope

Buy ROME IN LOVE