Review and Giveaway: Capturing Peace, by Molly McAdams

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01capture Well now, another winner from Molly McAdams. I gotta say, this little novella was quite a shock to me. I remember reading the first few pages, as a preview, and I was dying for more. And then, when I was given and ARC, I squealed and started it right away.

Synopsis
Coen Steele has spent the last five years serving his country. Now that he’s back, he’s finally ready to leave behind the chaos of the battlefield and pursue his lifelong dream. What he wasn’t expecting was the feisty sister of one of his battle buddies—who has made it obvious that she wants nothing to do with him—to intrigue him in a way no woman has before.

Reagan Hudson’s life changed in the blink of an eye six years ago when she found out she was pregnant and on her own. Since then, Reagan has vowed never to let another man into her life so that no one can walk out on her, or her son, again. But the more she runs into her brother’s hot and mysterious friend, the more he sparks something in her that she promised herself she wouldn’t feel again.

Can two people with everything to lose allow themselves to finally capture the love they both deserve?

Right from the start, I was intrigued with these characters. I knew this was a novella, so I really thought it wasn’t going to be an in depth story, but just a glimpse. I was totally wrong. While it was a quick read, it was just what I needed today. It had angst and romance and it left me completely satisfied. The instant connection between Coen and Reagan was totally believable. Love will strike you when you least expect it.

I am very happy I read this, cuz it gave me a glimpse into the next book. And I can honestly say, I probably would not have read it, with this novella. It touches on a very rough subject for me, and I needed this novella to give me that little push. So for that, I am grateful.

Now I can’t believe I’m about to say this. But while I really enjoyed the story, the pictures, on Molly’s website, are what brought it all together. I literally sat down and wept. It was like, I was looking inside Coen and my heart just crumbled. I’m picking the pieces up, as I type. Beautiful pictures that totally made the book more real.

I think I need another hug.

~Melpomene

Buy Capturing Peace: A Novella

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Review ~ Carthage, by Joyce Carol Oates

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18750474Have you a read a book where the words, the soul of it, the understanding, just completely resonated with you, and yet continually challenged your thinking?  How about a book, despite the fact that the narrative isn’t a free flowing, easy-on-the brain journey, yet keeps you engrossed and reading way past your bedtime.  Or perhaps even a book that leaves you speechless, but yet leaves you wanting to get up on the roof and sing its praises.    Yeah…  Those books are very rare indeed.    I am one of the lucky ones that have found a book that embodies all of the above experiences.   Carthage, the latest novel from Joyce Carol Oates, exceeded anything that I could have imagined.

Now, I am Oates virgin.   I of course had hear of her, but had never read any of her books.   Oates was one of those authors that I put into the “I must read something of theirs one day”.   When Carthage was released, I finally bit the bullet.   I wasn’t too sure what to expect; Oates is an extremely successful author and there was definitely an air of apprehensive mystery around her – in my opinion.   When I finally got my copy in the post, I was so excited and instantly began to read, or more accurately, devour.

Those that are knowledgeable in Ancient Greek history, will recognize that Carthage is the name of an ancient civilization, way back in the day.  So instantly, you have this connotation of potential tragedy brewing.   This of course, is before we even get to the names of some of the characters!  Zeno (a Greek philosopher who was known for his paradoxes) and his daughters, Cressida and Juliet (the main protagonists from Shakespeare’s tragedies Troilus and Cressida and Romeo and Juliet, respectively).  Now, I’ve seen other authors try and replicate their novels after tragic plays etc…, but Oates does it so subtly, yet delivers such a punch, that it doesn’t feel like a parody at all.   You feel the tragedy and the irony in such a profound way and indeed in such a contemporary fashion.

The plot focuses on the search for Cressida who has gone missing.  The blame is soon put onto Juliet’s ex-boyfriend, Brett, an injured soldier, recently returned from Iraq.   A fairly simple plot one may assume.   Well, yes, it is.  However, what makes it so complicated, and yet so fascinating, is the peppering of differing perspectives, and “truths” that Oates spreads throughout.   Where one character has a deep perspective on events, another character sees it in a completely different light; the reader is teased and led down the proverbial garden path, on more than occasion.

I really can’t say much else in case I inadvertently spoil it for someone, so all I’ll say is that you should go out and read, no scrap that, EXPERIENCE, this tour de force of a novel.    After reading this, I am going to have to buy some other novels by Oates.   Any suggestions, dear readers?

Well, I am going to go and sit in a book slump…..

Pegasus.

Carthage

Review: Live by Mary Ann Rivers

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This book just sucked me in. I was speaking Hefin’s parts with my own version of a Welsh accent (think English, Scottish and Irish all rolled into one… spoken by an American… Scary, I know). I was conscious of my own bony hips when Hefin stared at Destiny’s. I smelled the library Destiny spent time in and the new wood panels Hefin carved. I was seriously in Lakefield, Ohio for a few days.

If you love a falling-in-love story, you’ve got to read Live. The emotions are written truthfully and deliberately, Destiny and Hefin wanting each other and then needing each other and then loving each other.

My favorite thing about Live is that the love is shown in actions, not just feelings. Destiny sacrifices her personal life to care for her sister. Hefin helps with Destiny’s twig project, even when he thinks he may have lost her. Betty pulls a fast one to make sure Destiny gets a chance at, well, her destiny.

Mary Ann Rivers gives the reader a substantial romance, replete with a lot of slow sex, agonizing decisions, and an intercontinental separation. The book is heart-wrenching at times. I cried so much you would’ve thought I was part of the book.

Live is also a story about a family and a neighborhood, with all the mistakes and ludicrousness and eye-rolling you’d expect. Betty and the limo provided some levity, and I laughed in between my tears.

Among the love story and the family dynamics was a big thought to ponder: a person needs to be loved enough by their family in order to feel worthy of love from a lover. I asked myself if I was, and then put myself in the shoes of the people I love. ❤️

The only niggling thought I had at the end was that I wished there was more of Destiny’s brother Paul. But I betchya his story will be in a future installment in this Burnside Series… and I can’t wait.

-Calliope

IT’S ONLY 99¢ for KINDLE!
Buy LIVE

Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

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attachmentsWhat a totally nerdy book that I think just about anyone can love. Here you have two people destined to meet and fall in love…..or are they destined to fall in love and then meet? Of course the road that they have traveled to get there all part of the fun…..You know what the characters are doing are kinda sorta wrong on more than a few levels, but damn it all….you just don’t care. You hope they continue and yea, your secret inner nerd is mad because it’s not happening to you.

This is my ideal romantic love story. The players aren’t in each other’s pants within the first 5 chapters of the book….This book isn’t about sexual contact at all…..You totally feel like a voyeur in a non sexual way….and you LOVE it….you laugh out loud throughout the book…..your heart gets all mushy (yes, I said mushy) at times…..you’re rooting for everyone throughout the story….and you totally don’t want to put the book down at any point….

This novel was a prime example of a “just one more chapter” novel….as a matter of fact, I went through most of the book that way….and I was so reading it when I should have been doing something else more productive….say like….oh eating meals….or maybe sleeping….or….well….just about anything that didn’t involve me lounging on the couch reading and giggling to myself….

And did I mention this book was funny? Snarky funny….heartstring funny….romantic funny….inappropriate funny….bittersweet funny….and just sad funny….and let’s not forget funny funny…yep….funny in any way you could possibly want it…..

Still not sure? Okay…..let me pull all of you fellow geeks off to one side then…..if the funny part doesn’t get you….if the romance doesn’t get you…..well…..can I say there is enough fandom in here to keep any geek happy…..Sandman….Discman….Dungeons and Dragons…..Star Wars…..The Lord of The Rings….and so many more….it’s fun just to read the book so you can find the little hidden references and random names throughout the novel…

Oh…..and you have great family interactions……oh oh…..and great friendships……oh oh oh…..I can’t forget the co-workers…..oh my…oh….let’s not forget romantic relationships as well…silly me….I’m just so excited after finishing this one…I can’t even think straight….

okay….I’m tired just trying to think of all the reasons you should read this book….so I’m just gonna go hush it for now…..I’m gonna go sit in a quiet place and smile and think about all the great characters in this novel….I’m gonna be a little sad because it’s over…and a lot of sad because I’m not one of them….but mostly I’m just going to be happy that I read this one….

Until next time….

Urania xx

Reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review

Buy it now Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Review: Mud Vein, by Tarryn Fisher

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“It’s your darkness that pulls me in. Your mud vein. But sometimes having a mud vein will kill you.”

This is not a book I can put in just one category. It’s not a mere thriller, mystery or suspense, or even a romance. This story can’t be simplified into any of those. It is an experience that will leave you speechless.

I am having a hard time putting into words all these crazy feelings that are running through me. Very few books have left me with this feeling of sadness, over the ending. But sadness isn’t the correct word. I’m not sad. I may be crying, but I’m not really sad. I’m more numb, than anything. See?? I need someone to reach down and pull the correct words out of my head and through them down here. I’m all a wreck.

If I could just write a review saying “Go and read it.” I totally would. Tarryn Fisher has a very unique writing style and it sucks you right in. This review will NOT do it justice. I’ll tell you that right now. You might as well just click on the buy link, at the bottom, and get started on reading it.

Senna wakes up in a cabin, in the middle of nowhere, and the only way out is to take good hard look at her past. But looking at her past may very well destroy her future. She must try and put the pieces together, or her life might not be the only one in danger.

Her past has completely shaped her. She is a broken soul with no way to be fixed. Or maybe, she doesn’t have the will to be fixed. She broke my heart. I was drawn into her and could totally feel everything she felt. I was breathless at a few parts. How one person could experience so much, was beyond me. I could feel her brokenness through these pages.

Isaac, was her savior, but she never really noticed that. He was there when she was at her worst, and he helped her when no one else did. He saved her from herself. He kept her alive. He was also with her in the cabin.

“Maybe lifting someone else’s weight makes yours a little more bearable.”

Every time I saw a glimpse of Isaac, from her past, I fell more in love with him. He never left her, when he thought she needed him. And she most definitely needed him, way more than she thought. He cared for her and never backed down no matter how hard she pushed. And boy did she push.

“Why are you here?”
“Because you are.”

But this wasn’t a love story really. It was a story about people and their darkness, and how even those with darkness in them they can still be loved. But it really wasn’t about love!! I still can’t put my finger on it.

My heart was racing almost this entire book. Watching Isaac and Senna try and put the pieces together, had my heart racing. It was a matter of their life or death. This is definitely not my usual type of story. I’m a fluff reader. Happy happy joy joy, with occasional heartbreak mixed in. This book terrified me, made me nervous, and of course, still broke my heart. The love shone, throughout this story, was beautiful, if not devastating. To have love like that would make anyone deliriously happy, but to Senna, it was unfathomable, until the very end.

“What you wrap around your soul determines your outcome.”

Tie yourself to those you truly love you.

~Melpomene

Buy Mud Vein

Review: Four Years Later(Drew+Fable #4), by Monica Murphy

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001four Owen makes me feel like a cougar. He really does!! I should be ashamed, but I’m really not.

I knew he was going to have a great story to tell. Tragic, yes, but still great. No story is perfect after all. And since we saw what kind of life he had, growing up with Fable, are we really shocked how he behaves and lives?? Not so much.

When Owen makes one wrong choice after another, his world is turned upside down. When he is told to either stop messing up and take control, or he is done with college and football, he has only one choice to make, shape up. This is where Chelsea comes in.

“You’re not a bad seed. You’re just a flower waiting to bloom.”

Chelsea is a super shy, super smart overachiever, with a secret she wants no one to know. She wants people to just get through college without anyone knowing where she came from. She needs to tutor students in order to make ends meet. And this is where Owen comes in.

“I’m not like most girls.”
“I know. That’s what I like most about you.”

At first, their relationship is strictly tutor and student. But then soon, they find themselves wondering if they mean more to each other than that. The classic virgin and manwhore. I love how they always get thrown for a loop. Neither one sees it coming.

I felt so bad for both of them. Owen just wanted to be loved and he was willing to do some very dishonorable things, in order to produce that feeling. Chelsea was sick of her mother always choosing her deadbeat worthless father over her. She just wanted to be loved, but was to scared to go looking for it.

As they started to grow closer, you started to see bits and pieces of the broken young boy, who grew up without a mom who cared, and who tried to make every happy. He was so lost, he needed Chelsea to hold on tight and keep him together.

I loved seeing a bit of Drew and Fable sprinkled in the story. I loved seeing the way they accepted Chelsea, and knew she was perfect for Owen, even if he didn’t.

It’s sad to see these characters go. I’ve enjoyed peeking into their lives. But all good things must come to an end.

~Melpomene

Buy Four Years Later: A Novel (One Week Girlfriend Quartet)

Review: The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

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20140111-211005.jpgI’ll start off with a disclaimer: I’m a huge fan of dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories. That being said, at times they all tend to run together with story lines that are too similar to keep them separate in my mind. Boy/girl surviving in a harsh future world that’s been changed forever by a virus/alien invasion/advanced technology/drought with a love story thrown in for good measure…you get the picture. But this new offering by Ann Brashares offers a different take on the oh-so-popular genre.

Seventeen-year-old Prenna comes from a world that’s been devastated by a killer mosquito-born virus. Millions of people have died, and society is in ruins. In order to save themselves as well as the entire human race, a “community” of those with a natural immunity to the virus is formed. They decide to travel back in time in an attempt to change the course of events that set the world on a path to destruction. The community has a set of present-day rules that must be followed: never attempt to interfere with events, never reveal that they are from the future, never form a relationship with someone outside of the community. Prenna doesn’t question these rules until she falls for Ethan who, as luck would have it, is one of the few outsiders who can “see” that she’s actually from the future. Turns out there’s actually a bit of a conspiracy going on with the higher-ups of the community.

This was one of those books with several intersecting story lines. Yes, Prenna is the main character and Ethan is her love interest. But there are many other things going on at the same time. It’s a good book, just very hard to describe or summarize neatly. Read it if you enjoy well-written futuristic stories.

~Thalia

Buy it Now: The Here and Now

Review: The Swiss Affair by Emylia Hall

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20140403-223359.jpg I have such a list of books to read and review that sometimes I gingerly open a book expecting – but hoping not – that it will be drudgery. And so it was with The Swiss Affair. I had prolonged it so many weeks that I created false bias in my mind: probably historical fiction, I know nothing about Switzerland, there better not be spousal cheating going on, etc, etc, etc.

I was in for the surprise of my life. The Swiss Affair is so many things, wrapped up in beautiful language, distinct and varying characters, and set upon wintery white Lausanne, Switzerland.

While reading, I felt like I WAS Hadley, young British innocent. I was brought back to my university days, with eyes wide and bright, seeing more in people than may have truly been there…. A time and place where anything was possible, adventure abounded, and I lived for luxuriating in every moment.

“There’s a phrase in French, you know … Il faut profiter. It means ‘make the most of it’ … But it’s more than that. It’s about… luxuriating in a moment.”

So there’s the coming of age bit.

Then, the affair. The forbidden romance. The love story. It’s not perfect, but I love it all the more because it isn’t. And really there are three affairs – Hadley’s, Hadley’s friend Kristina’s, and the love affair with Lausanne – all worthwhile, and all bittersweet.

And there’s a murder mystery woven in The Swiss Affair. Lucky for Hadley she befriends a former detective novelist who wants to help her solve it. It’s well done with a few twists and turns, but nothing you can’t guess if you put your mind to it.

There’s skiing. There’s cognac and whiskey and beer. Hugs. Friends. And lots of snow. Walks amongst snowflakes — alone or together or in a large party. Wonder. Awe. And sadness. Guilty, heart-wrenching, lonely sadness.

I don’t remember reading anything that comes close to the well-roundedness of The Swiss Affair. It’s romance, tragedy, mystery, drama, chick lit, new adult, adventure, and literary fiction all rolled into one. It’s dark and it’s bright. And it’s dark again. And even though I’d always tell you I prefer a happily ever after, I appreciate that this ending isn’t. This ending is teary for the reader but full of new beginnings for Hadley and Henri.

–Calliope

Buy THE SWISS AFFAIR

Review: You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age

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18114061A little change in direction from my “normal”, for lack of a better word, reading habits occurred over the last week. I know, the shock! However, once in a while is quite refreshing.
I was browsing NetGalley (that site is more addicting than social media!) and I came across a memoir of sorts from Hollywood actor Robert Wagner. Now, I can’t really say that I’m a particular fan of Wagner – there’s nothing wrong with him, but he’s just never really been on my radar. However, his memoir promised to be filled with fascinating anecdotes, scandalous secrets, a comprehensive history of the old Hollywood system and an “opportunity for readers to live vicariously through one of its most beloved leading men”.
I’m happy to say that this book did live up to its promises. It provides a really interesting history of Los Angeles, Hollywood, and the surrounding areas. Although it gets tedious on occasion, the historical aspect to this memoir does help to create context and insight into the lives and attitudes of the early actors and studio heads. To read about the slow, but steady, building of the Los Angeles area and its early players, taught me quite a bit.
Wagner doesn’t just give us a history lesson though; Famous actors including Cary Grant, Norma Shearer (arguably the biggest diva and brat of the 20’s and 30’s), are profiled through several stories and fun tidbits. Hearing about how certain actors would buy up whole floors of hotels for their extramarital affairs, was quite entertaining! We get to hear the parties (and they would give today’s parties a run for their money) he went to, personal stories from his friendships with certain stars, and a lot of stories that were told to him.
This is a tell-all memoir, but one with history, and a little class. Wagner never sensationalizes, but gives you enough juicy gossip to keep reading. If you’re looking for something light and different, or have an interest in classic Hollywood, then I really recommend that you give this one a try.
*ARC provided by NetGally in exchange for an honest review*
You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age

Until next time.
Pegasus.

Review: Made for More by Hannah Anderson

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20140401-231307.jpg Made for More explains how each of us is made in God’s image, for purposes beyond what we can see. The more often we choose to live in God’s image, the closer we come to trusting Him and letting go of our worries.

My family is adjusting to some new situations right now, and we will experience more changes in the coming months. This Spring I’ve been feeling in limbo… not where I’m accustomed, and not yet where I’ll soon be. So far it’s been emotionally difficult. I vacillate between sitting lazily on the couch (“I give up”) and feeling restless… like there must be something more to these months of my life. I’m not meant to just sit around and wait for the next chapter, right?!

So I picked up Made for More. Reading it gave me an authoritative nudge to live each day in God’s image. Helping others, doing mundane chores, loving my family, and working at my job outside the home all need to be done for God’s glory and with my eyes on Him. Hannah Anderson explains that looking for ways we can glorify God in our CURRENT lives (yep, even my crazy limbo life) is the way to reflect God’s image. And whenever we reflect God’s image, we become more like Him.

I know I need to get off the couch. God put me here for much more than being a bystander to all his glorious world. Since I’ve been nudged, I will take more opportunities to serve Him and trust him throughout my day. Everyday.

-Calliope

Buy MADE FOR MORE