Fiction

Review: Death of the Couch Potato’s Wife by Christy Barritt

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I like a nice, easy, cozy mystery once in a while. Especially before I begin a more complex read. Well, Death of the Couch Potato’s Wife fit the bill for a cute mystery requiring little effort.

Laura and her husband move to a small town from Chicago, and have to adjust to their new surroundings. At the same time, there’s a murder in the neighborhood, and Laura joins in the investigation.

I liked the friendship aspect of this story more than the mystery part. The mystery was a little hokey and far-reaching, frankly. But the relationships among the women could have been developed further … The women were likeable and strong.

This was a Christian mystery, but there was no preaching, and just a smattering of mentions of God. This was another area that could’ve been developed more, as Laura tended to think about God when she was worries about her marriage, and marriage is a pretty hefty topic!

The marriage survived, the murderer was caught, and the friendships thrived. All’s well that ends well.

When *you’re* ready for a break from some heavy reading, pick up a cozy mystery.

Now I’m off to read some Anne Rivers Siddons. *waves*

-Calliope

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Review: The City by Dean Koontz

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thecityIt’s been many years since I’ve read any Dean Koontz….okay…by many I mean at least 20….oh dear, I am getting so old! Without going into just how stupid I am, I was a bit confused at the start of this book….this was in NO WAY Koontz’s FAULT….it was my own….When it started to make sense to me…well….I still wasn’t swept away with the story. It was interesting….but a bit long-winded to me…However, at about 30% into it, I fell in love. This goes to show that it doesn’t matter what the story is…..how bad it is….how good it is…..if a character wins your heart…well….the book owns you….

Don’t get me wrong…this isn’t a bad story….there is one bit that doesn’t really tie in for me….The mysterious lady from the 6th floor really is never fully explained to my satisfaction…and no, I won’t go into this as I hate spoilers!

However, the tenant from the 4th floor absolutely won my heart over….He wasn’t the main character….but he was the one that completely owned my heart…

I enjoyed this story, but I can’t say that it really reminded me of the Koontz that I used to read…and if not for the love I felt for the gentleman I have mentioned, I believe that I would have liked the story alright, but could not have been motivated to review it or to give it a second thought after finishing the final page….

There is a bit of the supernatural going on in the novel, but it is not heavy…and it’s certainly not horror….more suspenseful than scary….

This is a story told Jonah Ellington Basie Hines Eldridge Wilson Hampton Armstrong Kirk……yes…..that’s correct….please don’t make me repeat it….let’s just make it easier on all of us and say Jonah….

Jonah is an older man when this story begins…it begins when a friend tells him he needs to talk about his life…..he asks if this includes “the dark stuff” and is told that “the dark stuff” needs to be included as well…..so Jonah starts to tell his story….he mostly goes back to when he was 9-11 years old and the events that occurred during this time…We meet his parents, and his grandparents and many others that reside in “The City”…..in the end we learn that it is not really the buildings and the location that makes a true city….A city is made up by the people who live within it….

I realise that this might sound very simple….and kinda boring…..but hey ho….weren’t you paying attention at all when I said that there is a character in here that makes the entire book worth your time? Go on…..stop reading this looking for spoilers….you won’t find any here…..all you’ll find is my recommendation that you should give this one by Koontz a read…..move on now…nothing more for you here…..go get the book…..go on…move it…..shoo….

Until next time….

Urania xx

ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review

Buy it now The City by Dean Koontz

Review: Until We Touch by Susan Mallery

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I fell in love with Fool’s Gold a while back, and the Score crew was a big reason why. Until We Touch focuses big time on Score – especially on cutie Larissa. She will do anything for an animal or a person in need… And Score partner Jack McGarry will always come running to help.

I’m not a huge animal person, but Larissa is, and her compulsion to rescue animals totally worked. If you love fur babies, you’ll sympathize and have some tender I-heart-animal moments. And if you don’t, you’ll just appreciate Larissa’s generous heart — like I did. In this book, Larissa helps plenty of animals, but she also makes a big difference in the life of a young adult… And reels in Jack for assistance.

So. The love story. It’s a slow build-up, then some good fireworks, then some bad fireworks. The awesome thing about loving someone is that it’s about the actions, not the feelings. Larissa and Jack already act like they love each other! It’s only when the words and feelings are brought to the surface that trouble arises.

I liked that Larissa was a little naive here. It fits her personality and brought me back to “stupid things I did while in my 20s” – hah! And I liked that Jack was wonderful except for the time he was a completely big jerk and I could’ve just pushed him with two open palms and said WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!

The best part about a perfect hero who makes a gigantic stupid mistake is watching him make up for it. The apologies were worth the anguish, they really were.

As for the updates on other characters: Taryn’s wedding planning was enjoyable, and I liked the fun closure to Sam’s love life. Mayor Marsha brought upheaval and some new guests to town… and the local businesses were thriving. Read it. You’ll see – and love it – for yourself.

By the way, I read Until We Touch on the beach. My daughter looked at me from the edge of the ocean, rolled her eyes, and said, “There’s mom, crying again over a book.”

Yup. You betchya. Tears of sadness, tears of joy. That’s a successful read.

-Calliope

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Review: The Promise by Robyn Carr

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20140623-230542-83142578.jpg Robyn Carr, you’ve done it! You’ve created a Thunder Point novel that I fell in love with, just as I fell in love with the Virgin River books. The Promise was SO satisfying. From the small-town doctor’s office to the big-time ex-boyfriend cardiologist, from the romantic tension between widower Scott and newcomer Peyton to the comfortable companionship of Carrie and Rawley, I was completely taken by The Promise.

I was glad Carr took the time to give me her usual update on characters from past books, and even happier that this installment centered on a romantic relationship or two. Or three. I was pleasantly surprised to find Rawley making a move … And making no apologies for it!

Some of the most fun parts to read were of Peyton’s visits to her family farm. I could feel her joy and relief when she stepped foot on the property: a place of safety, respite, love, and dancing! Peyton’s family was warm and embracing, a lovely counterpart to the misunderstandings and dilemmas facing Peyton. And the food… Ohmygoodness my mouth was watering. I wasn’t even hungry and I was jonesing for a fresh baked baguette, olive oil, and just-picked tomatoes.

The Promise really has it all: food, family, fun, love … oh! and two new babies. Irresistible. I’ll read it again unless Book 6 is waiting in the wings.

Ms. Carr? Possible publish date for book 6? Hello?

-Calliope

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Review: Our Happy Time by Gong Ji-young

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ourhappytime***This book will be released in the USA on July 1, 2014***

Wow. This was a gem of a read for me. I am so glad I stumbled across this novel. If I were the type to read book descriptions I would have more than likely passed. This is a novel that has strong religious tones. The exact type of novel I avoid. However, this was so much more. This is a novel about acceptance. Acceptance not only of others, but also yourself. It’s a story about finding oneself. It’s a story about looking beyond your past and trying to imagine a future. A future where you find the strength to want to go on. It’s also about forgiveness. Of asking for it, and of accepting it as well. There is just so much contained within these covers of this book.

I really admire Gong Ji-young for not taking this book and trying to turn it into a prettily wrapped happily ever after book, although the reader will surely wish for this to book to end happily. I’m not saying there isn’t a HEA, I’m just saying that sometimes just getting though another day must be enough. As Ji-young points out more than once, “instead of saying you want to die, you should instead be saying you want to live better”.

Here you have a young, beautiful, affluential woman. She’s a professor, a world traveler and a past singing sensation. She comes from a *perfect* family. However, we find out throughout the story that she has not really bothered to enjoy life or to even live for the last 15 years. The woman the world sees couldn’t be further from whom the woman actually is.

As this point the young woman joins her Aunt, a nun, to weekly prison visits of a man on death row. This man makes no excuses for what he has done. He does not deny anything.

All of a sudden both the woman and the man are forced to see the world though someone else’s eyes. Once this occurs, there is no turning back. Suddenly, one must realise that no matter how alone you have felt your entire life, there are others out there in the world as well. Suddenly you must realise that if continue to focus on only yourself and your experiences…well, you are missing out on everyone else’s experiences.

Ji-young has some real zingers of some quotes in this book. Some of what she wrote had a profound effect on me.

This is one book that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. I won’t forget the characters. I won’t forget the quotes. And I certainly won’t be forgetting the the feelings she evoked or the message that I received. I hope you give this book a chance and feel the same….I so loved it…

Until next time….

Urania xx

ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Buy it now Our Happy Time by Gong Ji-young

Review: The Same but Different by Serena Clarke

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The beautiful thing about book titles is that they seem to mean one thing at first, and then you finish the book and realize they could mean a whole bunch of other things.

Cady and Shelby are twins – the same but different, yeah? There’s a death in the family and they decide to travel from the UK to the US… and join a flash mob thingy called Flashpoint. While they’re there, they look for their biological dad, and run into two women also named Cady and Shelby -the same but different, again! And by the end of their US adventure, Cady and Shelby grow and develop and peel away layers until they themselves are different… yet the same.

I thought this book would be straight up romance or chick lit, but it was really much more. There was suspense, adventure, family drama, more family drama, and yep, some romance. It was refreshing to read such a well-rounded story, kind of along the lines of a Nora Roberts novel. I’m used to so much straightforward chick lit romance that I forget how satisfying a good, substantial story can be. A big Thank You to Serena Clarke for reminding me. 🙂

–Calliope

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Review: Echo Boy by Matt Haig

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echoboyWhat does it mean to be human? Is it merely to be made up of flesh and bone? Is it the structure of our DNA? Is having a soul what makes us human? Or is it more than that? Perhaps it is our actions? No matter how you answer, there is some way that one can dispute your answer. Isn’t an evil person human? Do they have the correct DNA? Aren’t they made up of flesh and bone? A stone cold killer can be classified as human, although their actions might say otherwise….

Here we have the future. A world where continents can be visited within seconds…even the moon within hours. Boundaries between places that we know now are smaller and less apparent. It is a world that is now made easier by the help of Echoes. More or less computers made of flesh and bone that are there to look like humans….perform as humans….teach humans….do the work of humans….look after the young of humans….protect the humans….but to never, ever, be human. They are highly intelligent. They excel at whatever they are programmed to do….but they will never have the emotional capacity that humans possess.

Or can they?

Here we can have a look at the path that we are currently heading down….One where we (the human race) are able to jump into a pod and be transported to our love ones in a blink of an eye. One where we communicate more by machines than by touch. One where we can learn everything we *need* to know without ever really leaving our homes. Ones that although the boundaries of the past seem nonexistent, they are in fact even greater….

You might wonder what I mean by that….but look at your grandparents. How hard would it had been for them to facetime with someone in another country? How many friends did they talk to daily from foreign countries?

Now stop and think….makes you think that we’ve come a long way, eh? But wait……those same grandparents….did they spend hours a day locked inside their houses? Glued to their phones? Worried about the latest technology? Or did they truly interact with others? Did they learn about life virtually or by reality? How are you and the younger generation learning such things today?

It really gives you something to think about, doesn’t it?

Now back to what makes us human…..

This novel will give you much to ponder here….

Some of the humans portrayed have no real value of other human life….They are not thoughtful of other humans…..some of them, really, have no idea how to even interact with other humans…..

So when we isolate ourself from other humans….at some point do we lose some of that which makes us human? At one point does this happen?

So if we have no value of other human lives, does that make us less human? Again, at what point does this happen?

Finally, is it possible for *something* not fully human….something made of flesh and bones….something with some DNA…..something supposedly *without* a soul….something made in a lab….programmed….but made with love and hope and devotion……a machine that cares about the value of human life…..a machine that does not seek to isolate itself……to become human? Again, at what point does this happen?

Matt Haig, might not have written the best literary work of all time here….but hey ho….how many people can? However, what he has done is given us much to think about……and much to be watchful of…..

This book was left with an ending that can no doubt be picked up and continued on with further novels….I hope we get at a least one more…..

I really enjoyed this novel, as I have Haig’s other works…..I’m sure you won’t be disappointed…go on then….go see what the future has in store for you and I……..buy the book…..

Until next time….

Urania xx

Review copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review….

Currently available to buy in the UK Echo Boy by Matt Haig

Review: Just One Thing by Holly Jacobs

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20140612-122043-44443951.jpg Loss is powerful. So powerful that sometimes people lose themselves because they are so distraught from the grief of losing someone else. In Just One Thing, Lexie didn’t function as her normal self anymore. She created a shell of a person in order to get through her days. Bartender Sam did the same thing.

And because they couldn’t crack their shells, to all at once release their authentic selves, they did it one thing at a time. Lexie and Sam exchanged one statement, one feeling, one story each week, until they formed a friendship– a real, honest, trusting friendship.

I loved hearing their “one things.” It’s rough to climb out of grief. It’s painful to trust someone again. Telling a friend one thing and being able to hold back the rest makes the climbing easier. It makes telling the NEXT thing easier. I totally sympathized with Lexie’s loss and grief and feeling of emptiness. And I knew she’d feel fulfilled again once she shed her shell.

I read for fun, you know, so I appreciated the wit, the poignancy, and the romance in Just One Thing. The story was about lifting up, healing, overcoming.

Lexie and Sam’s love story may have started out slowly and reluctantly, but when they healed enough to open up fully, they loved deeply and joyfully. Sigh. Dreamy, right? The whole book is dreamy. Deep and joyful love… that’s a happily-ever-after all day long.

-Calliope

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Review: Huckleberry Summer by Jennifer Beckstrand

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20140612-125512-46512637.jpg Aahhh, young love! The tension, the fun, the sighing when you re-live a good date, the well-intentioned interference of the matchmaking grandparents…. Yeah.

Anna and Felty were successful in the match of their grandson Moses, and now they’ve moved on to shy Lily and brazen Aden. Beckstrand totally cracked me up with Lily blushing all the time, Aden the bad boy trying to be good, Felty and Anna bantering and giving sidelong glances. She writes likeable characters and strong dialogue. The story is meaty enough to sink into, but easy enough that I could read without working at it.

Aden and Lily’s love story was charming and believable. I liked how Aden kept persisting, even when Lily’s dad rejected him over and over again. The best part was when Lily used the strength of Aden’s love for her to stand up for herself. Brava, Lily!

I’ve fallen in love with these contemporary Amish young adults and their search for fun, friendship, and godly love. Bring on Book Three!

-Calliope

Read my review of book one, Huckleberry Hill.

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Review: China Dolls by Lisa See

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ChinaOh. My. Great. Goodness….and breathe….

Lisa See has really outdone herself with this one. I’m not at sure if she shouldn’t just put up her pen and call it a day…..this book was just so wonderful! I seriously wonder how she can ever top it….Most people if asked what this book was about would automatic reply with it’s about some Chinese and Japanese girls in San Francisco at the time leading up to, during and after WWII….But it’s not. To me, that’s the whole point. This is a story about 3 Americans from Chinese and Japanese descent. These ladies are every bit as American as any one else born and raised in the USA. Although your ancestry might help shape you, it does not define you. This is also the story of how people are judged and sometimes defined by their looks. This is the story of a great friendship. One that is true to life….but only if we are lucky. Yes, perhaps there will be parts that make you mad and wonder how anyone could call someone like that a friend, but this book broke my heart. It made me….no….it DEMANDED that I set my judgements aside….to leave them at the door and try to view the situation from someone else’s eyes. It made me seriously try to put myself in that time period. To imagine what it was like around me. The paranoia. The resentment. The sense of survival. Trying to maintain trust whilst everyone around you is pointing fingers. It reminds me that for some, trying to make peace with what you know, what is expected of you, what you want, and your own past…well, sometimes these things will never be reconciled. Sometimes the battles we fight in silence, within ourselves….well they are the bravest….and often the ones that are never celebrated.

When will any of us be judged solely on their own merits? By only their own actions? I know that’s a Pollyanna view and an unrealistic desire….but why? Why must we judge on the colour of skin? On our family? On our ancestors? On our Country? On all of the very things that we are powerless to change? Yet, the things within our power….those are the last things to come to be judged by…..

Yes, I won’t say that parts of this book didn’t just break my heart. That it didn’t depress me. It did. However, these characters were so rich to me. I fell in love with so many of them. I understood so many of them. I admired so many of them. I could sympathize with so many of them….even the ones I was angry with. By the way Lisa See presented them to me, well, even though I knew they were unyielding in their actions, even though I was angry and upset by this….I understood why they were that way….even if I didn’t agree or like it. However, the main characters of this book….wow…just wow….I can’t imagine going through what any one of them endured. Let alone coming out like they did. The courage they displayed. At their tenaciousness. How easy would it have been for any one of them to just throw in the towel and to despair at life. How easy it would be to just look at the actions of others and to toss them aside and never give them another thought….instead of looking at only actions, each one found it within themselves to try to understand the reason for the actions…Some would argue that this makes them too soft-hearted and gullible. I disagree. It is, in fact, much harder to set aside our own feelings and try to understand another’s…..

We should all be so lucky to have people around us like this….

No one ever does something without a reason…..nothing ever happens just “out of the blue”. Our past does define our future…..This doesn’t forgive anyone of any wrong doing…..but if we are to be judged by circumstances that are completely out of our control, shouldn’t we at least be forgiven for those within our control that we try to set right?

Read this book. Please. But leave your preconceived ideas of “china dolls” at the door. For me, this was not a novel about some night club dancers. That couldn’t be further from the truth….

I realise that my review might not convey how much I loved this book….

Let me set the record straight….right here….right now….

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book…..I already miss Grace, Ruby, Helen and Eddie…..because they are no longer in my current read, I will gladly just keep them in my heart and hope they continue to encourage me to look deeper….

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now China Dolls by Lisa See