Fiction

Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

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11559200This book is an excellent follow up to A Discovery of Witches. I was afraid that the sequel would not live up to my expectations that have been building for a year since I read the first one. Luckily, that fear was incorrect.

Shadow of Night starts immediately where Discovery left off and begins to weave in various historical figures throughout the book right up until the end. In the first book there were many descriptions about the food and wine with great detail, in this one the detail is in the historical aspects. I loved the historical features and characters in this book and felt that just as the descriptive food and wine gave the first book authenticity so did the historical features here.

I loved getting glimpses of various historically famous places and people. Like any good book it made me want to go find out more. I have no doubt I will be reading about Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh due to this book.

The relationship between Matthew and Diana also did not disappoint. There was both romance and intrigue along with more secrets that hadn’t been revealed before. There was enough suspense and action to keep my interest and balance out the romance.

I loved this book, just as much as the first one. I own both audio and Kindle versions because the narrator is so amazing. I will be waiting on pins and needles for the third book. Undoubtedly it will go in my favorites shelf as well. I was able to get a hardcover of this signed by the author, so now I own all of the version of this one just about!

5 Stars

~Clio

But it Now Shadow of Night: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy)

Review: Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

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660976511 year old Melody has Cerebral Palsy and has always been overlooked and under rated – by pretty much everyone except her parents. She has a photographic memory, is incredibly intelligent but she also cannot talk at all. We get to hear Melody’s thoughts on everything from her Doctor telling her mother that she is mentally handicapped and can’t learn anything more to her special education classmates.

Melody is funny and has an incredible outlook on her life.

A person is so much more than the name of a diagnosis on a chart.

From the time I was really little—maybe just a few months old—words were like sweet, liquid gifts, and I drank them like lemonade. I could almost taste them. They made my jumbled thoughts and feelings have substance. My parents have always blanketed me with conversation. They chattered and babbled. They verbalized and vocalized. My father sang to me. My mother whispered her strength into my ear.

Melody gets frustrated with people taking her for granted and no one paying her any attention. But she discovers something that can give her back her power of speech. From there Melody’s life starts to change – both for the bad and the good.

I found this book incredibly touching and unexpectedly funny.  I think that this is a great book for teens and younger to read – it’s entertaining but also teaches a great lesson in how to treat others. But as an adult I also really enjoyed this and would highly recommend to anyone.

4 stars

~Clio

Buy it Now Out of My Mind

Review: Plus One is a Lucky Number by Teresa Morgan

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18299025 Sophie has a “plus one” wedding coming up quickly and is dreading everything about it. She’s been in a rut, mostly just working as an Engineer and hanging out at a local pub with her co-workers. Definitely no dating or “plus one” to speak of. When a friend sees the invitation in her purse he quickly pushes her to bring Adam, a gorgeous co-worker with a playboy image.

When the weekend comes it starts off rocky and more than a little awkward. They put on a pretty believable show in front of the wedding party and Sophie’s friends though. They slowly start to connect and discover they have more in common than they thought. But both are hiding secrets from each other and from themselves. The question is can they come clean with each other and where do they go after the wedding weekend?

This was a quick, fun read that I really enjoyed. I liked that Sophie was an Engineer and while she may not have all of her life together she does have her work life in order. She loves what she does and she’s good at it. Adam was likable too and I found myself rooting for both of them pretty quickly. They bring out the best in each other and I thought the HEA was perfect.

This one comes out on August 29th.

4 stars

~ Clio

Pre-order or Buy it Here: Plus One is a Lucky Number: HarperImpulse RomCom

Review: The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank

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4 stars

The Last Original Wife cracked me up! One thread in the book was about how Wes, the husband, didn’t appreciate his wife Les’ humor — kind of like how some reviewers didn’t appreciate the humor in this book. But I did. 🙂

The book is ostensibly about a marriage gone wrong, a woman’s search for her own identity, and the social dynamic in the south. Underneath, the author comments on society’s expectations and prejudices. To experience it all, I went on a hilarious literary trip from Atlanta to Charleston, replete with a brother living in a haunted house, walks along the battery with iced cocktails, dinners at the Club, and a lover who wears seersucker suits.

Wes and Les had a less-than-perfect marriage. And Les finally got fed up with Wes’ idiocy. Did she make a high moral choice? No. Did he deserve it? Yeah, pretty much. They both hid their real selves from each other for years, so in my opinion they both reaped what they sowed.

I really enjoyed the humor, the insouciance, the ridiculousness of these characters and their interactions. I felt like I was reading the book version of a mural of caricatures.

I didn’t agree with everything the characters did in The Last Original Wife. I wouldn’t have made the decisions they did. But I loved reading their story.

–Calliope

Buy It Now The Last Original Wife

Review: Girls in Trouble by Caroline Leavitt

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Sara is a 16 year old girl who is pregnant and madly in love with her boyfriend. Her parents don’t “get” her and don’t approve of their relationship because Sara is supposed to be college bound and they think this is distracting her. When Sara goes to tell Daniel about her pregnancy he doesn’t react the way she thought he would and he disappears. She finally chooses to put the baby up for adoption but can’t find any family that seems to be a good fit.

She finds what she is looking for in George and Eva and they decide on an open adoption. They become like second parents to her throughout the pregnancy, supporting her and listening to her when Sara’s own parents don’t want to hear about her issues. After Sara gives birth things change for everyone.

I really enjoyed this book about open adoption because I felt like I was seeing the issues from all points of view without much bias. The POV does alternate between Sara and the adoptive parents and we also get a glimpse into the birth father’s thinking a few times as well. I could relate to all of their emotions and the complications they go through.

I literally couldn’t put this book down, as I was so interested in hearing what happened next in each person’s life. I thought each person was multifaceted and flawed, which made them come to life for me. This is my second Caroline Leavitt book and I really enjoy her narrative style and think she has a beautiful way of telling her stories.

4 stars

~Clio

Review: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

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5759This is a tough one for me….I almost stopped reading this book a dozen times….almost just flipped to the ending at least another dozen times. I was seriously pissed. I couldn’t follow the story at all. I felt like it did not flow, at all. I sooo wanted to love this book…..I have heard so much about Palahniuk. I have found dozens of quotes that I loved and tracked them back to him. I *needed* to love this book, but I hated it!!!!! It is not often I give up on a book. Especially one I have wanted to read for a long time. This one had me sooo close to doing just that…..

It’s not that the book was too gross (just imagine soup stirred with a stranger’s penis). It’s not that it was too brutal. It’s not that it was too warped. None of those things bothered me. It’s just that it all seemed too jumbled. It felt like I would read a part of the book and then the next page it seemed to go to a time that was prior to the part I just read. I felt very disoriented. I am a reader that usually has no problems following a story. I love the details, but I don’t let the details bog me down either. Sometimes I know this is a very hard thing for readers to do….to let go of not understanding everything….to just let the story take you where it needs to…at it’s own pace….It is human nature to want to understand everything and not wait for answers to be revealed….but even I had a hard time with this novel.

As I said, I was seriously pissed that I was not able to grasp where Palahniuk was leading me. I mean, I knew where it was going, but seriously, why can’t he keep a straight path to it? Foolish me…..going off and doing exactly what I thought I never did…..getting bogged down in the freakin’ details instead of letting the book lead me to where I needed to be….

To not give anything away from someone who might read this book later, I will just say, that as soon as Palahniuk turned on my light bulb moment at about 80%, the madness I was feeling turned into a moment of surreal brilliance. At that point, I was *SERIOUSLY* pissed that I had almost abandoned the book a dozen times… B-R-I-L-L-I-A–N-T!!!!!!!!!!  I mean, seriously, just fucking BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book was everything and more that I had hoped to gain from reading a Palahniuk book……

~Urania

Buy It Now  Fight Club: A Novel

 

 

 

Review: North Country Hero (Northern Lights #1) by Lois Richer

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3 stars

Kyle is a war veteran who lost a leg in Afghanistan. Sara is a victim of childhood abuse who has a lot of love to give. They get to know each other while working for a new school for at-risk teenage boys. Sara tries to overcome her adversity and shows her love through cooking and serving others. Kyle is bitter because of the physical damage he has suffered, but Sara softens his heart.

I totally loved the rural Canadian setting: beluga whales, snow and ice, polar bears and Northern Lights. The boys attending the school were sweethearts (a little unbelievable for troubled teenagers, but okay). The cast of characters were likable and well-developed.

One thing I didn’t like was how lost and unsure of herself Sara was. Sara’s actions showed her as well-adjusted in society but the author wrote her thoughts as self-doubting at every turn. It seemed contrived.

I did like the love story and how slowly the relationship grew. I thought it was realistic for two people afraid of taking a risk on another person. Though predictable, I enjoyed the emotional push and pull until the Happily Ever After.

North Country Hero is a Love Inspired Christian Romance, so expect a lot of talk about prayer, God, faith, and the Bible. Most of it was written in naturally but there were a few hokey, Pollyanna instances that evoked an eye-roll. Christianity was an integral part of the plot and main character.

My sure sign of a good book is one that makes me laugh and cry. North Country Hero had my heart bursting and tears flowing.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

–Calliope

Buy It Now North Country Hero

Review: The Long, Hot Texas Summer (McCabe Homecoming #2) by Cathy Gillen Thacker

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3 stars

Justin and Amanda are unexpectedly thrown together to start a ranch for boys with social service needs. As they work on the ranch, a spark develops, and they spend the rest of the book exploring their chemistry together. That, and working on getting the ranch ready to open on time.

This book was predictable and the characters were underdeveloped. But the plot was cute, Justin and Amanda were likeable (and beautiful, of course), and the writing was good.

All in all, The Long, Hot Summer isn’t really special in any way, but it is a cute, straightforward romance with the requisite three scenes of intimacy.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

–Calliope

Buy It Now The Long, Hot Texas Summer

Review: On the Island (On the Island #1) by Tracey Garvis-Graves

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islandSometimes we all need to read a book that doesn’t make you think at all….we need to read a book that makes you forget…..it’s been a while since I stayed up past my bedtime reading a book…one that had me waking up a few times during the night wondering what happened…too excited to remain asleep…..one that finally made me get up early and stay in bed for hours trying to get it read….just so I could see how the characters got to their happily ever after….this was that book! I loved it…..No, it wasn’t life changing. It wasn’t something that makes you change how you view the world…it was pure escapism….something that you needed without even knowing you needed it….it was delightful to be so wrapped up in Anna and TJ’s life that I was able to forget my own for a little while….again, I simply loved this book….sorry I waited so long to actually read it……I hope I don’t wait so long to read her other books…..

I hesitated a very long time reading this book. I kept hearing wonderful things about it, but I read the description (something I rarely do) and it put up a huge mental block for me….the description and my imagination of the subject matter really put me off of this book. I didn’t see how I could ever get past a part of the book and this was before I even started it!!!! However, the subject matter I feared (teacher/student relations) was handled seamlessly by the author. Tarvis-Graves did a wonderful job and there was not a moment I felt uncomfortable with anything in the book. Don’t pick up this book until you have a chunk of time set aside….you’ll be wondering the whole time how it’s going to get to the ending!!!!

~Urania

Buy it now On the Island: A Novel

Review: The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

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princeNever been both, so happy to see a book end and sad at to finish the last page as I have with TPoT. This is one of the types of books I love the most…so beautiful that you ache with each word you read…yet at the same time your gut is clinched in knots that are painful and your heart is pounding out of your chest because of the horrors you are witnessing. yes, I said witnessing. I did not simply *read* this book….I was there. I experienced it. I witnessed it. I felt it….There were parts I laughed so hard that I almost had tears rolling out of my eyes…there were times where I felt so much pride that I wanted to cry…there were times I felt such righteous anger that I had tears of anger blurring my vision….there were times I felt so lost and hopeless that I could only cry….and there were times that this book actually brought chills upon my skin….Finally, there were times that I had no choice except to put the book down for a while and walk away and try to distance myself from it. At times it was simply too much for me to bear….

The grandparents reminded me of characters from a Fannie Flagg novel. So eccentric, outrageous and lovely that you hate your childhood, just because you didn’t have them in it. There is no way you could not feel pure enjoyment at some of the happenings in the town. At other times, I was so mad I could taste bitter bile in my mouth….so angry, I felt my pulse pounding. But most of what I felt was a sorrow that stayed with me, even after I laid the book down and tried to forget.

I grew up in the South. Besides the ending (which was the only objection I had to this entire book, I felt the ending was just too much….too contrived to be believable), I felt that this novel was not a work of fiction. It was a life that could be found in many many a Southern town. I bet I knew some of these people. I bet some of me can be found in these pages. I felt fierce pride at so many moments in this book. Pride for perhaps the first time at being a Southerner. At other times, I knew for a certainty why I no longer live there. This…Book….Was…..Very….Real to me….

It would be so easy to point the finger at any of the characters in this book and tell them why they were wrong. It would be just as easy to understand why they were as broken as they were.

What one can not so easily explain is how they are still beautiful and how you have no choice but to love each and every one of them. What is so hard to accept about your own self is that you feel sorrow for them. That despite the horrible things that they did, you understand that they are all good people. That they all have a fierce love for family. That they did so much wrong, but that in the end, they honestly did the best that they could in that moment in time.

I like to think we are all above how we were raised. That every bad rotten thing we experienced or witnessed has made us into a better person. I like to think that we all have the power within us to *always* do the right thing. Life however has taught us all otherwise. Can any one of us not think of a single time where we have had wrongs done to us and wish we had behaved differently? No, most of us have not done atrocities to those we love….nor have we had atrocities done to us….but can any one of us look back and not see one instance where we wish we had chosen a different way? A better way. Reacted differently? In the end, they are just people who did what they did and wished that they had behaved differently. They suffered for the choices that they made, because they had to live with those choices. They did not simply act and move on….

We should all take away from this book that the choices we make not only effect other people, they also effect us. There is no running away from the past. The past is a part of you that you always carry with you….No matter how much you deny it or reject it…it is still a part of you. Good or bad, it helps to shape you into the person you are today. No, we do not have to constantly live in the past….but let us all hope that we have learned from our own personal history. It’s never to late to change your life…I sincerely hope that it’s never to late to make amends and try to make it right….

~Urania

Buy it now The Prince of Tides: A Novel