Review: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

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*1I absolutely loved this book. The scenario is simple enough….Alice bumps her head and wakes up and can’t remember the last 10 years of her life.

Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. Sure we can run into a friend that we haven’t seen for ages and judge them….how much have they changed….how much have they remained the same….are they thinner? Thicker? Do they act the same? Are they still lovely? Are they cynical? How much can someone change in ten years? How many life events can happen?

But stop all that….forget about your husband, you children, your parents, your siblings, and your friends….let’s stop for a second and look at ourselves. Whoa….that’s right….how much have YOU changed in the last 10 years? How has the changes you’ve made effected how people perceive you? How has it effected how you perceive OTHER people?

Not so simple now is it? We all know that people change…but it happens year by year….month by month….week by week…and day by day…..it happens so gradually that perhaps we don’t even realise it at all….until we wake up one day and ten years have passed….and we wonder…where did I go?

But Alice has no idea why she has changed. Why people treat her differently….she has only the view of herself from ten years ago…she has none of the newer memories that changed her to explain why….so she is left wondering how this could have happened. She is left judging herself and trying to figure it all out.

The novel gives you much to think about. The more you think about it, the more you have to think about. Imagine yourself 10 years ago…..now imagine your younger self looking at who you are today…with none of the knowledge of how you got there…..what would they see? WHO would they see? Would they be happy? Would they be a bit surprised? Disappointed? Would you feel confident that you had chosen the correct path and that you had made the right choices?

If not, would you be brave enough to make the changes your younger self desired? Sure we have all heard that saying….”If I only knew then what I know now”…..but really what does that mean? If you know it NOW, why not do the best you can to rectify it? Why assume that just because it was in the past that it’s too late to change yourself and try to make things better? Do we just use sayings like that for an excuse to take the easy road and not make changes in our life?

Again…so much to ponder here….I do believe I need to hurry up and read another Liane Moriarty book….this was pure bliss for me….

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Review: Gabriel’s Inferno, by Sylvain Reynard

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“If I have a soul, it’s yours.”

I just reread this book, for the third time, and it still the most romantic book I have ever read. Now, I may be a silly girl, who reads mostly fluff, so I don’t understand a lot of things written in this book. That being said, one thing I do understand is love. This book was all about love. Forbidden love. Lost love. New love. Sweet love.

Synopsis
Enigmatic and sexy, Professor Gabriel Emerson is a well respected Dante specialist by day, but by night he devotes himself to an uninhibited life of pleasure. He uses his notorious good looks and sophisticated charm to gratify his every whim, but is secretly tortured by his dark past and consumed by the profound belief that he is beyond all hope of redemption.

When the sweet and innocent Julia Mitchell enrolls as his graduate student, his attraction and mysterious connection to her not only jeopardizes his career, but sends him on a journey in which his past and his present collide.

An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love and redemption, “Gabriel’s Inferno” is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man’s escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible…forgiveness and love.

The beauty in the words, takes my breath away. While I had to google many of the paintings, to fully envision what they were talking about, I was drawn into the descriptions and many of the feelings that went along with them.

“I will remember your scent and your touch and how it felt to love you. But most of all, I will remember how it felt to gaze at true beauty, both inside and out. For you are fair, my beloved, in soul and in body, generous of spirit and generous of heart. And I will never see anything this side of heaven more beautiful than you.”

The sexual tension was immeasurable. I was fanning my face many times. I love the fact that there was no sex, just to have sex. It was planned to perfection, and by far, the BEST scene I have ever read.

“When I told you that I was intending to worship you with my body, I meant it. With all my heart. I will never take from you. I will only give. In my bed and outside of it.”

The crazy thing about me is that I bought the UK covers, just because they make reading it more romantic. Aren’t I right?? These are gorgeous covers!!
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I can’t explain how much this book touched my soul. It was gripping and emotional. I cry a lot while reading books, but none have ripped me apart like this one. I can’t put into words the way I am feeling right now. This is why this book is one of My Top 10 books of all time. I’m so glad I decided to reread. I need to be fully prepared for The Raven, in February, which is a spin off, of sorts. I can’t wait!!

~Melpomene

Buy Gabriel’s Inferno (Gabriel’s Inferno Trilogy Book 1)
Gabriel’s Rapture (Gabriel’s Inferno Trilogy Book 2)
Gabriel’s Redemption (Gabriel’s Inferno Trilogy Book 3)

Review: The Bridge from Me to You by Lisa Schroeder

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the-bridge-from-me-to-you-by-lisa-schroederDisclaimer: I am not a romance/love story person. Most “mushy” stories leave me running away as fast as I can. But sometimes the romance is secondary to a bigger plot, as was the case with this newest book from Lisa Schroeder.

Meet Lauren. As the new girl in town, she’s the object of much speculation. We find out very early on that she’s come to live with her aunt and uncle, but the suspense builds until we find out exactly why. She struggles with the loss of her immediate family, her place in her new family, and how she fits in to this small, close-knit town. Her point of view is told in prose, for the most part, which lends a poetic quality to her story.

But hers isn’t the only perspective that we hear. There’s also Colby. In this small town that’s centered around football, he’s one of the team’s rising stars. He’s going places, just not the places he wants to. His family, and the entire town for that matter, have every expectation that he’ll go on to make it big in college football. His story is told in more traditional narrative form as he tries to find the strength to stand up for what he wants, both in love and out of life in general.

This was a good, engaging book that earned a solid four out of five stars for me. The alternating writing style works completely and adds credibility to the different stories being told. It’s a love story, no doubt, so don’t go into it thinking you’ll be getting some deep, mysterious, angst-filled young adult book. My only (slight) complaint would be that it really does paint a somewhat rosy picture of high school life and small town life in general. But in today’s world of harsh headlines, sometimes that’s just what you need in a good book.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: The Bridge From Me to You

Review: Suspicious Minds by Christy Barritt

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I just finished Squeaky Clean Mysteries #1, and here I am halfway through #2! I love how Gabby finds not just another crime to solve, but another guy to confuse her heart.

Gabby finds a dead Elvis, and in her search for his killer she finds a bunch of quirky fans of Elvis-look-alikes. With puns and song references abounding, this cozy mystery is a fun Stephanie-Plum-esque romp through the eyes of a crime-scene-cleaner.

The crazy thing here is that after just one book I am now hooked on this series. The awesome thing is that after Suspicious Minds comes a Christmas novella – for only 99¢!

-Calliope

read my full review of HAZARDOUS DUTY (book 1)

buy SUSPICIOUS MINDS (book 2)

buy IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CRIME (book 2.5) for 99¢

Review – A Good School by Richard Yates.

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48340It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a book. As most of you may know, I’ve set myself a “challenge” of reading the Century Trilogy back to back. Well, I think that may have been a mistake. I am currently on the second book, and whilst I do really like it, I find myself only being able to read small chunks at a time. Now, this may have more to do with me starting substitute teaching and being exhausted every day, but I also believe there may be a psychological aspect due to the “challenge” aspect that I set myself. I decided to try and remedy this by reading something completely different.
To make my lunch breaks in the day a little more interesting, I took a short (about 250 pages) book to read. This book is by one of my favourite authors, so I knew I’d enjoy it. Richard Yates’ ‘A Good School’ is often described as the 70’s version of The Catcher in the Rye. I tend to disagree with this statement; Catcher in the Rye focuses on teenage rebellion in a society that is blatantly against the main character. A Good School focuses more on a society that is providing everything for the main characters, at least on a surface level.
The plot revolves around a group of adolescent school boys in a private prep school somewhere in Connecticut (most of Yates’ novels are set here and it is funny as I live here also, I can both what he is saying, and the complete opposite end of the spectrum!) that endeavors to churn out the best of the best in terms of future success stories. However, the plot spends an equal amount of time looking at the lives of the teaching faculty of the school – for they too are both entrenched and disenfranchised by the idea of this “good school”.
What I love about Yates is that he isn’t afraid of showing a broad emotional spectrum; pride, greed, vulnerability, anger, passion, and many other emotional states are portrayed in this short novel. With Yates, it may seem that he is all about doom and gloom, but really, he is about realism. These things happen every day, these emotions get felt every day, these consequences happen every day. There is no writing for the sake of shock value with Yates – everything is genuine and realistic.
Yates wrote this book in the 1970’s, but set it in the early 1940’s. This ability to set a story in a time in which it applies perfectly, and yet have it also apply to the time in which it is published, is ingenious. For a short novel, it really does pack quite the punch. If you find yourself wanting a short read, but also a read with substance, I really cannot recommend this enough.
~ Pegasus.
A Good School: A Novel

Review: Hazardous Duty (Squeaky Clean Mysteries #1) by Christy Barritt

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Since I’m on a mystery roll, I scoured my early kindle purchases for a fun cozy mystery title. Hazardous Duty fit the bill. It reminds me of Evanovitch’s Stephanie Plum books – but subtler, cleaner, and with a smidge of God talk in there.

Gabby is a crime scene cleaner, so she runs into murders and mayhem all the time. Difference is, usually no one tries to kill her! Gabby tries to help a friend and solve a crime while maneuvering around politics and a dirty politician. Between trying to save her own life, spending time in her apartment house of quirky friends, and trying not to fall in love with a man anything like her loser dad, Gabby is a little bit scattered and a lot scared!

Thanks to two new friends who happen to be male, good-looking, and on the right side of the law, Gabby makes it to the end of the book alive. On her way, a little seed of faith is planted, and I can’t wait to see where it takes her in Book 2.

This is a deal at 99¢, and so good that I gladly paid $10 for book 2. 🙂 Yes. I did.

-Calliope

buy HAZARDOUS DUTY

Review: The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

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Untitled-14 Okay. So anyone that knows me probably thinks I’m giving this five stars just because it’s Pat Rothfuss….well…yes…and…no….I guess it gets five stars because I don’t think any other author could have written a book like this and have it work! However….I was prepared to rate it lowly regardless of who wrote it….so yes, it gets five stars but only because, for me, it was a five-star read….

As I was reading this I felt like I might have to only give it three stars…

I know Rothfuss has been a bit worried about this short book…

Some will say he should have been because they feel it’s awful…it doesn’t have a plot, it doesn’t have a beginning, it gives no history of the main character…it doesn’t even have any characters…it only has one…Auri….

However, I didn’t find it awful at all….and for those that are disappointed….that Rothfuss has nothing to be proud of…..

I have a few thoughts about that….Rothfuss should be proud of this book because he, himself, loved it…in the end, isn’t that really enough? I initially wrote this review before reading Rothfuss’ personal note at the end….he states he wrote this story to find out more about Auri…the way he talked about this book it was almost as if the story wrote itself….he didn’t know where it was going, he only wrote where it took him….at the end of the day he didn’t think others would like it….he didn’t think it was a book that could be published….but HE loved it…..

Second of all….

He should also be proud that all he said about it is true…it’s not a real story…it doesn’t contain any spoilers….it doesn’t make a lot of sense…it won’t make any sense if you haven’t read The Kingkiller Chronicle…he was honest and up front about what this book wasn’t…..

No…it’s true….this isn’t a typical story….it doesn’t follow any format that stories are supposed to follow. It’s very different….it’s very unconventional…but no more so than Auri is herself. For that reason alone I don’t think it could have been written any differently and still fit with who she is…..

But if that’s not enough…

Here’s the kicker…

As I read this short novel I felt small ripples in my heart…much like walking on thin ice and feeling it start to crack underfoot…at about 70% I felt it shatter…I so felt for Auri…I ached for her…I felt that she was real…I can’t even begin to try to make anyone understand this beautiful wreck of a girl. Or how such a tiny slip of a girl can be so powerful. I can’t explain how something so shattered can be so breathtaking in its beauty…

But damn it…Pat Rothfuss can…NOW THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF!!!!!

Finally….As I hit the last bit of this story all I heard in my head was:

“In madness there is beauty”. I don’t know where that came from. I’m not even going to search it on google…all I know is that it sums up this book in five words…

“In madness there is beauty”

It’s madness that Rothfuss stepped outside the box and took a chance on something so different….and finally….in Auri herself there is madness….

but again….

“In madness there is beauty”….

“In madness there is beauty”…..

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

Review: Even the Moon has Scars, by Steph Campbell

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“The stars. They all burn out eventually. But that big guy up there,” he pulls back and points to the moon. “Even he’s got scars, and he’s still keeping on, right? I’ll be okay, Lena. We’re both going to be okay.”

WOW! This is one of those books that make me sit back and think, one night really can change everything. Whether they’re physical or emotional, everyone has scars, just as the title says. How to choose to heal yourself, is what makes the difference.

Synopsis
Two strangers.
Two broken hearts.
One night to set each other free.

Almost dying from an undiagnosed heart condition means every second of your life is a precious gift to be guarded.
Lena Pettitt was born a miracle.
And her parents never let her forget it.
Even if that daily reminder kept her from experiencing the one thing they were trying to protect most–her life.

Gabriel Martinez’s heart has been ripped out.
His pride has been stomped on.
Oh, and he now has an arrest record that’s caused an even bigger rift between him and his DA mother. All for a love that wasn’t really true.

Now he’s exiled to his grandmother’s, working on his late grandpa’s old Corvair, when a shivering girl knocks on the garage door. Lena, left alone for the first time ever, has locked herself out of her house. Gabe knows he could help this girl get back inside her house–but that may mean missing the next train to Boston to pick up the part he’s spent eight weeks tracking down. She can wait for him at his grandmother’s or…

A few hours, an aluminum valve cover, and some strong coffee later, neither Gabe nor Lena can feign disappointment when they race to the station and arrive just as the last train home from Boston is pulling out.

As jaded as he is, Gabe can’t deny the fact that he’s excited to spend the night exploring a city he knows nearly every corner of, with a girl who sees magic in the simplest things.

Lena has been waiting for her tiny world to crack open her entire life. Now that it’s finally happened, she finds the only thing she can focus on is the unexpected tour guide who opens her eyes to possibilities she never imagined.

All they have is this one night, together, under the bright moon in a city full of hidden beauty.
It’s one night that will change how they see the world and the paths their hearts will take forever.

Lena always hated being under her parents microscope and always looked after. She hasn’t been alone, in her entire life. So a night of freedom, seems like heaven to her. Even if it was all an accident.

I totally understood how Lena was feeling, being sheltered all the time. But when Gabe started to take her places, we started to get a glimpse into his life and how broken hearts can come in many forms. His home life was not pleasant, to say the least. My heart was breaking for the things he had heard over and over. No one should have that. This boy was so unsure of himself, that he would just about anything to feel love, even if it meant chasing after one wrong thing after the next.

I am so glad they had this night to explore and learn about each other. They learned how to fill in the cracks of their broken pieces.

This was a very sweet story, with enough emotion to keep me happy. One night changes everything. Love can heal even the deepest of scars. Well done, Steph. Well done.

~Melpomene

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Review: Letting Go, by Molly McAdams

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“Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting. It’s accepting, forgiving, and being emotionally ready to keep moving.”

I’ll admit, I was a bit scared to read this latest Molly McAdams book. She has a habit of throwing us for a devastating loop that we never see coming. And this book had plenty loops. But she has a way of healing us as well, after all the destruction. So this left me quite fulfilled.

Synopsis
Grey and Ben fell in love at thirteen and believed they’d be together forever. But three days before their wedding, the twenty-year-old groom-to-be suddenly died from an unknown heart condition, destroying his would-be-bride’s world. If it hadn’t been for their best friend, Jagger, Grey never would have made it through those last two years to graduation. He’s the only one who understands her pain, the only one who knows what it’s like to force yourself to keep moving when your dreams are shattered. Jagger swears he’ll always be there for her, but no one has ever been able to hold on to him. He’s not the kind of guy to settle down.

It’s true that no one has ever been able to keep Jagger—because he’s only ever belonged to Grey. While everyone else worries over Grey’s fragility, he’s the only one who sees her strength. Yet as much as he wants Grey, he knows her heart will always be with Ben. Still they can’t deny the heat that is growing between them—a passion that soon becomes too hot to handle. But admitting their feelings for each other means they’ve got to face the past. Is being together what Ben would have wanted . . . or a betrayal of his memory that will eventually destroy them both?

Right off the bat you see some destruction. The prologue had my heart racing and breaking. But I just knew that if I held on tight, Molly would take care of my heart and in the end I would be okay.

When your life changes in the blink of an eye, and all the plans you made are thrown out, you will need time to move on. This story is about that. It’s about learning to let go and keep moving. It’s about forgiving others, even when their mistakes have made your life totally upside down.

Grey has suffered for two years trying to move on. She couldn’t have done it without Jagger. He’s been her constant companion since she was a little girl. So without his shoulder to lean on and his strong arms to hold her together, she would’ve fell apart.

Jagger has loved Grey for as long as he can remember. But she has always belonged to Ben, so he stayed back and had to watch. But when his best friend dies suddenly and his girl’s life is sent spiraling, he stays by her and helps her, even though all he wants it to tell her that he loves her. But to tell her too soon would set her back, so he remains her friend and hopes that someday they can be closer.

After two years, Grey finds out how Jagger truly feels and is unable to wrap her mind around that. She has always felt something for him, but she feels like she’s cheating on Ben, if she goes for Jagger. Soon she finds herself unable to deny to pull they have toward each other and they find out if they are strong enough to move on from Ben and move on to each other.

He was my best friend. He was my protector and healer. And I was so in love with him.

Their families and friends prove to have just as much drama as they have, and then some. I was quite happy with all the drama that they brought to the table. Definitely had my heart dropping in a few places.

~Melpomene

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Review: Matched by Ally Condie

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01mat This is the first book in my November reread. I’m reading it with my daughter. I like finding books that we can read together and discuss what’s happening. It makes her excited to read and if that’s what I have to do, I will do it.

Synopsis
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander’s face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate… until she sees Ky Markham’s face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it’s a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she’s destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

I remember reading this, for the very first time, and sitting down, in a Tim Hortons, crying my eyes out. This book had so many parts that made me feel like a teen myself. The situations that Cassia was put into, were so unfair, my heart was breaking. To not be able to choose your mate, has to be one the hardest things a person would have to deal with. And then to find out, they may have been wrong, and someone else might have been the person for you, that would make a young person go nuts. You don’t know who to believe. You find yourself drawn to the one who isn’t your match. You realize that the life your leading isn’t ideal anymore.

“Do not go gentle into that good night.”

Cassia starts to realize that the life she has isn’t the life she wants. She wants to choose. She wants Ky. She knows she can’t have him, but the heart knows what it wants. She notices things are changing and to change with them, would be to accept this world, and she isn’t sure she can do that anymore.

Watching Cassia and Ky grow closer, was so sweet and innocent. My heart was breaking for Ky and the life he has had. He has lost everything and was taken to a place where he is nothing. But when he meets Cassia, he knew he found his place. But nothing is your own and everything around you can be taken away, including those you love.

This is book one in the series. Thankfully all the books are out, cuz I totally forgot what happens next!! It’s not a cliffhanger, but we are left hanging just a bit. So I am jumping right into the next book, and my daughter can try to catch up, but I have to keep going!!

~Melpomene

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