Fiction

Review: Vicious Cycle by Katie Ashley

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01 vic This was actually my first “not perfect” MC book I’ve read. All of them have been clean and law abiding clubs. This one was a bit rough and serious, but it was most definitely real. And I completely enjoyed it. This was filled with action, suspense, heartache and romance. Perfection.

When Deacon was handed a daughter that he knew nothing about, he was in no way prepared for the changes that would happen in his life. But watching him slowly become softer and more caring, was very sweet to see. He hasn’t lived the easiest life, but he’ll do everything in his power to make it, so she’s protected and has everything she could ever want or need.

Alexandra cares so much for her students, that she was willing to come into the local MC just to teach a little girl and make sure she’s caught up. She never, in her wildest dreams, would have though that this life was going to slowly take hold of her.

After spending so much time together, Deacon was slowly falling for the teacher, and she for him. Even as dangerous things are happening all around them, they are constantly pushing through to find the perfect way to work for their happy ending.

“For her, I wanted to be a better man, a better father, a better brother, and hell, a better human being.”

I adored Willow. She was the perfect person to bring a change to Deacon, even before Alex showed up. It was fun to see these big and bad bikers dudes, fall before her and become sweet. Who knew a little girl would bring such change to the club.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book, because after I read the last few paragraphs, I am totally dying to know what happens!! Rev’s book is going to be amazing!!! Bring on October!!

~Melpomene

Buy Vicious Cycle (A Vicious Cycle Novel Book 1)

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Review: Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

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41SS8CrR6yL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_So I read a lot of young adult books. Enough that there are times when I think that I’ve read every possible scenario involving teenage love-drama-angst-not fitting in-bullying-teasing-etc. And yes, the storylines can become stale and/or familiar from time to time. But books like this one are the reason I keep at it, the reason I keep reading almost anything I can get my hands on. Not all of them, however, reach the level of this one.

A teenager with OCD. That alone was enough to grab my attention. But that by itself is not enough to carry a story. This one has so much more.

On the outside, Samantha has it all. She’s part of the in-crowd, popular girls who have been friends since they were little. She has a good family, does well enough in school, and is a star swimmer. There’s more to Samantha than meets the eye, however. In addition to all these things, she has OCD. Her mind is consumed by obsessive thoughts-the number 3, questions she must find the answer to, people she can’t stop thinking about.

With the help of her family and excellent therapy, she does a good job of hiding it. Appearances can be deceiving, though. On the inside, she panics at the thought of losing the approval of her friends. Friends who, if she’s completely honest with herself, really aren’t that nice to begin with. But they provide her with a safety net, and that’s what she needs.

Then one day she meets Caroline, who is the complete opposite of what she’s used to. And more importantly, Caroline leads her to Poet’s Corner, a hidden little nook of people just like her. With Caroline’s encouragement, Samantha begins to branch out, to share parts of herself she’s never exposed to others.

And then there’s AJ. Because what would a young adult story be without a love interest? AJ is exactly what Samantha needs. He’s calming and comforting, and through his love she finds the courage to be herself. But the OCD is always there, lurking, threatening everything Samantha’s found. She can’t bring herself to tell AJ about her struggles because in his eyes she feels normal.

This book broke my heart. I cried inside thinking of everything that Samantha went through each and every day. And yes, I know that it’s fiction. But it’s truth for many young people. It’s full of sadness, and it’s full of hope. There’s friendship lost as well as friendship found. The inner struggle that Samantha faces is very real as are her feelings of loneliness. And at the end of the book is a story that you won’t soon forget.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Every Last Word

Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

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  Oh my. Let’s start at the end.  I go into every book anticipating a happily ever after. This book ends happy from some people’s perspectives, but it’s definitely not what I expected. 

You know what led me to believe it would be my kind of HEA? Love. That’s right, I’m a hopeless romantic when it comes to books, and I was enamored with Louisa’s love story. After a dozen years of holding back and reining in and SETTLING for the safe bet, Louisa led with her heart. 

Louisa got out there and lived and loved and made herself happy… by the side of a depressed, egotistical, narcissist who was just trying to get by with the appearance of dignity that he couldn’t feel. 

In some ways I think Me Before You comments on how some people come into our lives for only brief moments, but they touch us in such a way that our lives are forever changed. And some people – like Louisa’s longtime boyfriend – are with us for so long without affecting us at all. 

I loved the banter between Will and Louisa, the characterization of Will’s hopeless and hopeful mother, and Moyes’ skillful descriptions of time and place that made me believe I was there. 

I laughed out loud, certainly. I bawled my eyes out, as well. I hated the ending, but I’d read it again in a heartbeat. 

A little birdie told me a sequel is being released in September. 

                     *in the queue*
-calliope

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Review – The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro. 

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22522805I finished reading this book over a month ago, and honestly, I’m still not sure what to make of it. Is it a work of genius that layer upon layer of undiscovered insight? Or is it a bit of a failure? Well, after a month of letting it sink in, I think I can say it falls somewhere in the middle. Now, Ishiguro is one of my top 5 favourite authors – if I could ever write a novel even an 1/8 as good as The Remains of The Day, or Never Let Me Go, then my life would be complete – and so this review is hard for me to write as I really wanted to love this book.

I suppose I better tell you a bit about the plot. Set in the early years of the Saxons, we follow an elderly couple as they go on a journey to visit their son in a neighbouring village. There is however, a strange mist enveloping the land and this causes everyone to lose their long term memory, that the people believe is being caused by a dragon rumored to be living in a mountain. Throughout this journey, the couple are pitted against many obstacles, including a cantankerous old knight from the days of King Arthur, the above mentioned dragon, and various other people that wish to do them harm.

Hmm… this sounds like a fairy tale you may say? Well, it is certainly told in a similar fashion, except this one delves into much deeper issues. I don’t want to explain each metaphor or what I think the author is trying to say – that’s for you to decipher. However, what I will say is that I think Ishiguro had all of these themes and contemporary issues that he wanted to incorporate into his book, but yet he tended to over crowd it without offering context. Or maybe it was my mind making up these issues and themes?

Even though there were some weak points, two things that Ishiguro does really well are characters and depicting loss and acceptance. This is what ultimately drove up my rating of this novel. Ishiguro is a master at portraying long-term numbness, sorrow and pathetic hope, and this novel is full of that. If you’ve read any previous novels by Ishiguro, then I do recommend reading this one. Certainly not his best one, but a solid 4 stars nonetheless.

Pegasus.

The Buried Giant: A novel

Review: Once Upon a Summertime by Melody Carlson

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Anna is a family girl who takes a job at a value hotel in order to be near her grandmother. Anna doesn’t expect to stay on her grandmother’s couch for two years, though. And she’s frustrated managing a hotel that isn’t in line with her hospitality philosophy. So she finally goes to New York on the referral of a friend and starts working at a chic boutique hotel… where her childhood crush is the manager. And he’s still handsome and charming and kind. And she kind of sort of can’t help falling back in love with him. 

Great plot, pretty good characters, and easy dialogue made Once Upon a Summertime a very nice read. The only thing I didn’t really like was the interaction between Anna and the other girls. The banter was contrived, and the snark was inconsistent. I couldn’t get a handle on Marley – and here Carlson missed an opportunity to let Anna show how strong she was by being an example to, or firmly standing up to, her friend. Besides that, the book is well-written and a joy to read. 

I always love the sweetness of Melody Carlson’s books. I like that she writes main characters who experience a transformation, or who grow due to a life-changing event. Anna goes from thinking about her ideas to acting on them – and in the process she becomes more true to herself. A person is always rewarded internally for living authentically, and in Once Upon a Summertime Anna is also rewarded by those she loves. 

 -calliope

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Review: Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent

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19099368 (1)One of the better books I’ve read in quite a while. You’re completely hooked from the first line…

I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her

What an opening line! The rest of the book does not disappoint. There really are no lulls in this story. The first chapter is told in Oliver’s voice and of course from the opening line we know what he has done.

So how many times have we wondered how someone could harm another person that they claimed to love? Have you ever heard something shocking about someone you know? Have you felt disbelief? Or are you completely unsurprised by their actions?

The rest of the book alternates between people who have known Oliver…either as child, teenager or an adult. All of their memories and encounters with Oliver paint a very complex portrait.

From the very start with Oliver’s nonchalant and matter-of-fact justifications we are left feeling very cold towards him. His lack of compassion and empathy is downright startling. It allows the reader to instantly hate Oliver and you have no problems at all distancing yourself from him.

As the book progresses and you see Oliver in different stages of his life…well, you can’t help but to be drawn in a bit closer to him….

Are people born bad? Or do events and experiences make them so?

At the end of this story you’re not sure if you hate Oliver completely or if a small part of you feels sorry for him. At some point I knew I can’t change my mind on my feelings….but I am stuck sat here and wondered if just one instance had been different….one turn different, what type of man would Oliver have turned out to be? Or is that really just more of Oliver’s nonchalant and matter-of-fact justifications trying to sway you? Even though he at no point makes any excuses for his behaviour…after all….it is what it is….

This is a disturbing read. But in such a good way. It was original. And best of all….it leaves the reader with shadows of the book haunting them long after the last page ends. Nugent has left me wanting more. I hope she graces us with another book soon. I didn’t really care for the ending…but that doesn’t bother me as much as it does some readers….after all….life doesn’t always turn out as you would like it either…

________

After thinking about this book a couple of days I have one more thing to add….

I wonder if we’re meant to hate Oliver from the start….If his voice led off the story to make us bias towards him. Nugent has done a brilliant thing here….I mean, though out the rest of the story I found myself looking for the bad in Oliver. I was looking for him to burn a kitten in the woods whilst he was in school. I was looking for some type…any type of cruelty….to justify how I pictured him in my mind. To show me a hint of the man he was as he told his tale.

It wasn’t there….

I am reminded of studies I have heard about….how we label individuals. Even professionals. One example in a study had doctors pose as a mentally ill person. They were admitted to a hospital after they displayed mental health tendencies. After they were admitted, they dropped the act and were their normal selves. Even though they were sane and logical, the workers and the doctors refused to see them as anything other than mentally ill. They ignored the evidence that said this person is not mentally ill….and instead sought to justify the label of mental illness….

My random musings of all this is to just point out…..

Did I hate Oliver and think he is vile based on the label I placed on him from the start? Did I completely overlook the child that he was simply because of the man he became? If we had read the story in chronological order, would we feel different about the entire novel?

See!!!!!!!!!! That’s what type of book this is! It doesn’t leave you in peace…days later you will still be thinking about it and asking yourself questions…..

Just saying…..

Until next time…

Urania xx

Review copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent

Review: Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

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Thinking about this novel makes the late afternoon sun wash over me like it does over Georgia’s family vineyard. Georgia goes home to the vineyard for comfort, but what she finds are more problems. It doesn’t matter though… she still relishes the love her family gives her in whatever way they can. 

Laura Dave sets a great scene and lays out emotion very well. I still can feel the brother and sister holding hands in forgiveness, the father picking grapes in the cool, dark, wee hours, and the fullness of music in Georgia’s mom. 

Georgia’s struggle with her fiancé’s past seemed very real to me. Here she is at her family’s vineyard, watching her family relationships change in big ways, and then she has to decide what kind of family she wants with her fiancé. Matters of the heart are not easily – or rationally – settled, but Georgia finds an inspired solution. 

My favorite character scene (because, truly, the descriptions of the land are so awesome that nothing compares) is at the end when Georgia makes a wise decision, filled with love for herself and her family. Eight Hundred Grapes wonderfully illustrates a happily ever after that isn’t too perfect or too sweet, but beautifully earned. 

 -calliope

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Review: ’89 Walls by Katie Pierson

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25136810Confession: I wasn’t going to write a review for this book after I finished reading it. It was a good book, no major gripes, but it didn’t really compel me like most others I’ve reviewed. But the more time that passed, the more it grew on me. And I don’t mean that as a criticism in any way but instead a compliment to the author for writing such a book.

Take a step back, if you will, to 1989. If you’re around my age, that’s about the time I was graduating from high school. So it is with our characters, Seth and Quinn. But they’re on different paths in life. Quinn is from a well-to-do family and as such is on her way to college and great things in life. The same cannot be said for Seth. It’s just Seth and his mom. And his mom is very sick. So his path in life is most certainly going in a different direction from Quinn’s. Of course this means that they must fall for each other. Thus come the obstacles to their everlasting happiness.

There are many things going on with this book. I absolutely loved stepping back in time to my younger years. The cultural references were spot-on as was the description of the political atmosphere of the time. It’s now twenty-six years later and the book made me feel as if it were yesterday. The author also broaches many hot topics including abortion and political unrest.

A word of caution, however. Although it’s presented as a young adult book, there are some pretty descriptive sex scenes. Yes, it’s a teen romance at heart but still. Otherwise, read away and enjoy the trip back to the 80s!

~Thalia

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Review: The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank

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There’s something about the South Carolina Lowcountry that draws me in.  It’s maybe a twisted sort of genteel refinement, where the politeness is superficial, and repressed aggression seethes underneath. The underneath part intrigues me despite its repelling nature. 

And so it is with this novel. Ashley’s family dealing with love and commitment – that’s the surface plot. What Frank truly writes about is darker and more disturbing – a pervasive perversion of commitment that brainwashes the victims and destroys trust. 

Frank brilliantly depicts the gradual creeping in of abuse, and then slams her point home with the abruptness of an abuser’s sickest moment. Until I began writing this review, I didn’t even realize how perfectly Frank paralleled her writing with the lows – and lowest of lows – of abuse. Seriously. The abuse plot just sneaked in there. I didn’t know it was even important to the story until something big happened. And I didn’t know it WAS THE STORY until the end. 

Frank wrote The Hurricane Sisters with such cleverness that I took the whole thing for face value – a family, their love affairs, their careers, their mistakes – until rehashing it in my brain at the end. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of love and shopping and partying and painting and working and traveling and falling in love. But there’s stuff that abusers try to sweep under the rug, as well. 

As a fan of fairy tale romances and happily-ever-afters, I wouldn’t expect to love this book. But I did. And I do. You and you will, too. 
-calliope

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Review: Huckleberry Harvest by Jennifer Beckstrand 

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This is book 5 in a series, but no need to read the books in order, nor start at the beginning. Grandparents Anna and Felty join forces yet again to make a love match between a beloved young relative and a Bonduel citizen. 

The story depicts young love at its sweetest, and mature love at its best. Beckstrand writes with humor, tenderness, and honesty. I love the characters and dialogue, and always, always the adventuresome comedy! 

I highly recommend the Huckleberry series for young and old alike, especially those enamored with Amish culture. 

-calliope

To read more detailed reviews of other books in the Huckleberry Hill series, CLICK HERE.

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