Review: Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

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When a book keeps me up until after midnight to finish it, it’s a keeper.  Granted, it was a Saturday night with no school the next day but still.  And yes, it’s another story about a dysfunctional family.  Just trust me when I say it’s really, really good.

Jack and Grace are the perfect couple.  He’s handsome and charming, she’s beautiful and elegant.  His job as a highly successful lawyer allows them to have an exquisite home filled with luxurious furnishings.  Their dinner parties leave nothing to be desired with Grace painstakingly preparing everything herself.  And last but not least, they appear to dote on each other with no sign of their honeymoon phase wearing off anytime soon.

But when the doors close, it’s a different story…

So this is where I’m going to stop.  Yes, I know it’s not much as far as reviews go.  The question is, did I intrigue you?  Did my brief little intro make you want to go get the book immediately?  Because you should.

~Thalia

~Buy It Now:  Behind Closed Doors

Review: Fablehaven Book of Imagination by Brandon Mull

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15135731_1299809816725483_7146308628241356337_n This isn’t my usual review. In fact, this was probably my least stressful review ever. A book of activities. No thought required. Easy peasy. Well, some did require thought, but don’t tell my kids. They may yell at me that they’re “learning” something instead of it being all about playing. When I first saw this Book of Imagination, I knew this would be perfect excuse to have fun and learn at the same time.

My kids have wanted fantasy books, that aren’t fill with romance, so when I stumbled upon the Fablehaven series, I knew this would be a hit. So far, I’m right. My daughter is reading book one right now and she is liking it. That’s huge in my house. We struggle to find books that they like, so we don’t have to force them to read.
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If you have tweens, or young teens, and you’re looking for something to give them a little escape from the real world, I recommend this activity book. Even if they haven’t read the series, they can still do activities. So add this to their stockings and make them happy. There’s recipes and activities to cure boredom and make the holidays run smoother. In fact, I brought this book with us when we went out to eat and it made the time pass much faster and there was no fighting. We all worked on a page and it was fun. We did one of the “How many words can you find?” pages and the next thing we knew, our food was arriving. Working your brain makes time fly. 🙂

This is my favorite page, as I was scrolling through. That girl of mine is such a stinker. 🙂
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~Melpomene

Grab the Fablehaven Book of Imagination http://amzn.to/2g7rvr5

Check out Sadie Mull’s video on how to make the wizard’s slime from one of the recipes in the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruaUdPKNmBY&t=6s

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Review: Christmas in the Park by Laura Lockington

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This is a quirky little story about Sarah who leaves her high-stress tv show career, and decides to start her own baking business. The focus is actually on the next newest thing in Sarah’s life… a dog! If you’re an animal lover, you’ll be charmed by Sarah’s comings and goings with sweet yet demanding Malteaser at her side. He follows her to the cafe where she gains a few clients… and new friends. He also gives her a run for her money at the park! 

What I enjoyed most were the baked goods and coffees, the meeting up with friends, and the new beau… all fulfilling Sarah in a way her old life never could. 

-calliope

Buy CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK

Review: Geisha With Green Eyes by India Millar

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31109220Mixed reviews on this one. I will quickly say that it felt like borderline erotica that was poorly executed. I also think that at the start that the writing style was mimic of the writing style of “Memories of a Geisha”, but where in MoaG it felt authentic, in this novel it just felt amateurish and childish.

Also you had the main character that was obviously powerful in her own right, and at times, she seemed to know this, but most of the time she was still dogeza with the other girls. SHe plainly knew the workings of the culture as it was all she knew…She noted the powers that some of the girls had over the others and noted the powers that her “auntie” had…even though men were always in power at the end of the day…however, it still bothered me that she seemed so subservient to everyone, even though she, in her own right, was put into several positions of power by some of her patrons.

Many times I wanted to put this novel down and place it in my DNF column. There are many parts of the story I would have liked to seen handled differently.

However, at the end of the day, I wanted to see what happened at the end of the story. At the end of the day I think there was some great potential here to make a mediocre novel into something that was very good. Yes it fell short, but I spent a great deal of time imagining and thinking about this novel when I wasn’t reading it. I just couldn’t manage to put it aside and felt compelled to finish it. I didn’t want to walk away and leave it undone. That in itself is something. I have to give credit where credit is due. No it wasn’t written as I wished it had, some parts of it I found silly even, but despite all of that, I had to finish it and I am glad that I did.

Not my best read of the year, but certainly not my worst either…

Until next time…
Urania xx

Review copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy your copy here Geisha With Green Eyes by India Millar

A Postcard Would Be Nice by Steph Campbell

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postcard As you know, I’m not one for reading blurbs. I tend to stick to my favorite authors and if I try a new one it’s only because my friends tell me I should. But for some reason, I felt as though this blurb needed to be read before I preordered it. But from the very first sentence, I had a feeling I was going to need this book. And when I finished reading the blurb, I knew I was going to need this book. I knew this story was going open lots of eyes and bring forth a lot of emotions.

Blurb
Seventeen-year-old Oliver Wu remembers four things about Saturday night.

1. He remembers going to the party and seeing Paloma, the girl he’s had a crush on for years.
2. He remembers the disappointment he felt when Paloma left early, just when he was sure his bravery had paid off.
3. He remembers the room spinning and someone helping him up the stairs.
4. He remembers waking up next to Tarryn, a girl he barely knows, with his clothes on the floor.

There’s just one notable memory missing.
Oliver doesn’t remember saying yes.

When Tarryn laughs off Oliver’s panic and tells him he should take her out for breakfast, he doesn’t say no. He stops himself from saying no to Tarryn for weeks because he’s waiting for what never comes—an honest answer about what happened that night.

With his friends shutting him out, and the rumors swirling, Oliver is turning into himself and just trying to make it through the rest of his senior year with his head down.

But the one person that Oliver wants to hide the truth from more than himself, Paloma, is the one person who won’t back down and accept his changed behavior. Oliver opening up to Paloma not only means facing what happened that night—it means airing a truth that could easily rip Paloma’s world wide open, too.

Tell me I’m right. Well, the blurb has nothing on this story. I was in a constant state of angst. My heart was in my stomach the entire time. This is real. This happens more than we care to think about. I have teens and this scares me. I am buying this book and having them read it. It will be uncomfortable, but I feel that they need to see. I realize this is fiction, but I’m willing to bet that this has happened to someone. I want my kids to know what to look for and how to help.

To be honest, I never think of the guys. I just don’t. But I am now.

Review: My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal

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I’ve been thinking for several days about how to review this book.  It’s not that it isn’t good, which it is.  It’s just one of those stories that is hard to describe, hard to recommend to people without giving away too much of the story.

Leon’s life has not been easy.  His mom is an addict, and his dad is in prison.  But still, he’s a good kid. He helps his mom out more than a child should, especially when it comes to taking care of his baby brother.  That’s not enough to keep them out of trouble, though. When his mom finally gives in to her demons, Leon and Jake find themselves taken away and placed into a foster home.

As foster homes go, it’s a good one.  Maureen is kind and caring even at her advanced age.  Leon would probably be happy staying with her indefinitely.  There’s a little hitch in that plan, however.  Baby Jake is adopted, and Leon finds himself missing his brother terribly.  And when Maureen gets sick, things go from bad to worse.  He’s determined to find his brother, and he becomes angry when he can’t.

Set in the late 70s/early 80s, the story mirrors the racial unrest of the time.  As a black child with a white brother, Leon knows that things are different for him.  He just can’t understand why.  It’s a sad story, makes your heart hurt for a child to go through so much. Quick and easy to read, hard to forget.

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  My Name is Leon

Review: Two Christmas novellas- Forever Christmas & My True Love Gave to Me by Christine Lynxwiler

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November means Christmas reading, so I hunkered down the past couple nights with two novellas in my Kindle’s “Christmas” folder. 

These charming and heartfelt stories felt like full-length novels in that the characters were many and varied, the plots had time to twist and meander a bit, and the main characters were wonderfully developed. 

In Forever Christmas, Kristianna tries to live out her own authentic life, fighting through family pressures and a stressful romantic past. I loved that Kristianna’s best friends never wavered in their love and loyalty to her. I enjoyed Kristianna’s fun dates, her surprise gifts, and the relationships she had with the quirky townspeople. Although saving her town of Jingle Bells from corporate intrusion was top of mind, Kristianna eventually got the message that working together for a solution is more effective than cutting off your nose to spite your face. 

In My True Love Gave to Me, loving wife and mom of two Penny has had it up to here with her newly-unemployed husband’s moping. But when he finally does something to snap out of it, she’s not truly on board with that either. The plan? A family RV trip. The reaction? Horror, as you might guess. However, in the spirit of a good Christmas story, the lessons are in the journey. Lynxwiler gives us an entertaining road trip where relationships are strengthened, trust is built, and true love abounds. 

Both novellas have a Christian perspective, with a mentions of “God’s plan” and positively describing other characters as Christian. They both have a happily ever after, too. 

You’ll be glad to know my Kindle’s Christmas folder is full of myriad holiday novels. These were only the tip of the iceberg! 

-calliope 

Buy MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME
Buy FOREVER CHRISTMAS

Review: Blame by Nicole Trope

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Being a parent is not an easy job.  On the very best of days, children fill us with warmth and joy and hope for the future.  On the very worst of days, they make us wonder what ever made us think we could do the whole parenting thing.  And fair or not, mothers seem to carry an unfair share of the burden.  But still, we keep doing it because of the love.  What happens, though, when your child is not easily loved?  What does a mother do when you are blessed, or challenged, with a child so difficult that on most days you just barely get by?

Anna seemed to find Caro just when she needed her the most.  As the mother of a young child with autism, she finds herself sinking deeper and deeper into herself.  Then Caro reaches out to her, and a friendship is born.  Although they have daughters around the same age, their lives couldn’t be more different.  But their close bond withstands that.

Until the night that Maya is killed in a tragic accident.  Who is to blame?  Is it Caro, who was driving the vehicle?  Or is it Anna, who maybe wasn’t as vigilant as she knew she needed to be?  Their friendship is tested in ways they never thought possible as the truth is slowly unraveled.

I loved the style of this story.  The author alternates between Anna and Caro, narrating from the perspective of each.  Most of the story takes place as each is being interrogated by detectives.  We think we know who is at fault, and then we change our minds.  The author drags it out until almost the very end.  An excellent read!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  Blame

 

Review: Faithful by Alice Hoffman 

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Faithful is a good YA novel with some realistic grit and an excellent rendering of teenage emotion. Hoffman perfectly describes adolescent/young adult self-centeredness — being egocentric without knowing it — the feeling that no one understands you and you’re the only one going through so much pain. 

Hoffman has a terrific way of harnessing the overwhelming despair Shelby feels without making the book contrived or too angsty. I believed in Shelby as she looked for ways to save herself – some destroyed her further, but some were steps toward healing. Hoffman beautifully illustrated a realistic message of HOPE – there’s a way out and something better waiting, but it’s up to you to grab a hold of the ladder rungs. In Faithful, Shelby achieved more than she ever bargained for: she found her savior, and became one to someone else. 

*This novel is not appropriate for teens under age 15 due to brief and infrequent but graphic and vulgar descriptions of sex.* 

-calliope

Buy FAITHFUL

Review: The Return of Norah Wells by Virginia Macgregor

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3112057424997133(Titled The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells in the UK) ** spoiler alert ** I have to say that I read this book quickly. I really felt compelled to finish it to the end. I had to see how it ended.

Having said that, well….that’s all I can really say…I found the writing style not only distracting, but also confusing. I found many parts of the novel repetitive. I found the children to be the only mature characters in the novel. I understood their confusion. I understood their emotions and feelings going back and forth. The adults however…I just couldn’t relate to. Their constant going back and forth. Their seeming ability to let 6 years go by and every one of them thinking things could/would go back to how it was before.

How does one expect us to feel sorry for the one that left, when she only came back for the reasons she did…I might not agree with her leaving…or why she left…but I could try to relate and understand it somehow…but let’s face it, if she wasn’t facing a life changing situation, she would still be off doing whatever it is that she did the previous 6 years…

The father…don’t even get me started on him. I understand not being perfect. I understand being confused…but he just took it to another level, didn’t he?

The “otherworldliness” stuff…again…I just don’t get it…sure, I understand that the author might have felt she was adding to the story and trying to stick in clever bits of symbolism, but seriously? It just added to the confusion and the not connecting to the story…as did all the strange “prominent but not prominent” twitter cast.

Finally, the different POVs….I don’t mind stories told in different POVs…but when the character in the chapter refers to themselves in 3rd person…it just does my head in…I’ve never before read anything like that…it’s almost like the characters decided to play both character and a narrator and that they couldn’t even keep their roles straight and kept getting confused and that’s why they slipped into 3rd person narratives from time to time…

Honestly, I’m not trying to rip this book to shreds. It was an interesting storyline. People do walk out of their lives. Sometimes they decide to come back. Often for the exact reasons described in this novel. However, I just don’t think many of them come back and expect to pick up exactly where they left off…they come back hoping to mend fences and make amends….not to step right back into the life they walked away from..as if nothing happened….as if they hadn’t been heard from in 6 years…as if time froze and did not move one once they left…and certainly, not one, but several adults expecting that to happen for various different reasons…

When it’s all said and done, am I glad I read this book? Yes. Was I in a hurry to finish so I could see what happened? Yes. Did I SOOOOO wish it was written differently? Hell yes…

Until next time…
Urania xx

Review copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now The Return of Norah Wells by Virginia Macgregor