Book Review

Review: Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell 

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What do you get when you cross a secret advice columnist with an extreme adventurer? A lot of heart. You also get three beautiful relationships, complex subplotting, kooky exes, and the kind of meet-cute nobody wishes for but everyone would be lucky to experience. 

Jill Mansell continues to impress me with her masterful weaving together of many complicated threads to make one gorgeous and substantial piece of art. Her characters are perfect for each other, whether in friendships, professional relationships, or budding romances. And the believable creativity in how the characters’ paths cross is nothing short of amazing. Even though there are a dozen or more characters, I kept track of them easily because Mansell writes them as real individuals, not as stereotypes or personas.  I enjoyed the effortless reading of this ostensibly “light” novel that really is substantive in covering controversial social issues and difficult family relationships. The many layers of plots are clearly defined, easy to understand, and richly developed.  

Three Amazing Things About You is right up there with Millie’s Fling and my other favorite Mansells.  So. Good. 

-calliope

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Review: The Confectioner’s Tale by Laura Madeleine

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What a lovely story! I keep saying I don’t like flashbacks in a story but I think I do like it if done well. Laura Madeleine does it well! I adored the story of the poor country boy falling in love with pastry and Mme Clermont. Author Madeleine painted 1910 patisserie life with just the right amount of romance and beauty, and juxtaposed it perfectly with the grit of railroads, brothels, and street thugs. 

Flash forward to 1988 where phD student Petra gets sidetracked trying to clear her grandfather’s name and unravel the great Clermont mystery… I just as much enjoyed Petra’s phone calls and literal legwork trying to figure out clues about her grandfather. I was psyched for Petra’s ride on the back of Alex’s motorbike, and glad to see that the romance of 1910 carried over to modern times. 

I think I would have been able to get more lost in the story if Madeleine had stuck with the 1910 matters, but it was gratifying to see how it all played out in the end – a type of closure I wouldn’t have been able to experience unless the 1988 story existed as well. 

Brava! 

-calliope

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Review: Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake #1) by CJ Sansom

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138685I don’t know if it’s because I now live in England (American) but I absolutely love these period novels. I’m in the middle of a couple different historical series that take place in England, so I figured I might as well add one more. I’m very glad I did! This was so interesting to me. In one of my other series I am learning about King Alfred and his devotion and obsession with religion. In this novel we have a very different setting. It’s only a half a century (Ha! ONLY) but Henry XIII is very much against religion. I found (and always have) the ways religion is used by men to further their own desires extremely fascinating. Even more so because there are so many people who honestly believe in religion and only have the best intentions…

This is one such story…The main character is a hunchbacked lawyer named Matthew Shardlake. He is a devout man and has, I believe, honourable intentions. He is sent by Thomas Cromwell and the King to investigate a murder at a monastery. Shardlake has believed he was fighting on the side of good. However, the more time he spends investigating the murder the more he starts to wrestle with his own moral dilemmas. There are so many things he starts to question about the way things are being handled by Cromwell, a man he has always admired.

As Shardlake sees the men and women of the monastery as individual people, he questions the side he is on. He starts to see the politics behind the religion and isn’t at all sure where he stands any more..

Shardlake has never had an easy life..he has be a social outcast, if only by his physical deformity..now he must face being an outcast, and perhaps worse, but questioning in his mind the activities of those above him..

It will interesting to see what happens next to Matthew…he is a hero that I find strongly drawn to…I really look forward to continuing on with this series…

Until next time…
Urania xx

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Review The Girl in the Castle by Santa Montefiore

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30370990My first Monteflore book and it wasn’t at all what I expected. I excepted a light read that would entertain me for a bit and then leave me quickly…

Instead I’ve falling in love with Ireland…a country I’ve never seen. I can’t say I really enjoyed the characters. I can’t say I didn’t either. There was love, hate, and anger for all. However, I take that as a sign of a really fantastic writer. The characters were real to me.

If I have one compliant it’s that this is labeled as a series. I don’t mind series. However, it really shouldn’t be labeled as such. I imagined it would be a story that was wrapped up for certain characters and then continued with new characters the next installment. Or perhaps focused on one character and then another the next novel….instead the reader is left with not just a cliffhanger…they are left with NO ANSWERS at all. Not one storyline was wrapped up. Honestly, I’m not even sure what to label this? An installment? Yes, I am disappointed. If you want me to read a beautiful story and I invest my time then at least give me something…Of course I’ve read books that had cliffhangers….but there was at least some closure…there was none here…it just seemed to stop in mid breath…and now I am left here…sad and lonely…and waiting…

Until next time…
Urania xx

Review copy provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

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Review: Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

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Cutie pie Pru learns to be very independent when her parents die in a car accident. She single handedly makes reparations to all those affected in the accident… and then she realizes she’s crushing on one – namely, Finn. 

I love the names Pru and Finn, and all the other character names too. They totally fit in to the “Melrose Place” type of setting and made this a very fun story to read. I wasn’t totally invested in the crew though, much like the Melrose Place television show! I’m hoping that with such an awesome cast of characters, this initial book in the series was serving as an introduction to the ensemble, as well as telling Pru and Finn’s story. If Shalvis can give me more of Elle’s and Sean’s snappy wit, and some more complex sub-plots, this series will be a winner. 

I’ll tell you what I absolutely enjoyed: Pru and Finn’s dates, the old guy by the fountain, the dumbwaiter, Finn’s ever-developing relationship with his brother, sweet Jake’s concern for Pru, and especially the way these friends always, ALWAYS, have each other’s backs. 

-calliope

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Review: The Sixth Idea (Monkeewrench, #7) by PJ Tracy

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2777462129966598(Titled Cold Hit in the UK) I really love this series so I was well chuffed when I received an ARC to read and review. I’ve been a huge fan of the mother/daughter team of PJ Tracy. I was totally blown away when Monkeewrench was published in 2003 and I am always excited when a new installment comes out.

If I wasn’t already familiar with the Monkeewrench team I might have been a bit disappointed in this novel…or perhaps I wouldn’t have been disappointed in it, but I wouldn’t have understood the relationship that the 5 team members (yes, Charlie IS a team member) share.

I really enjoyed this novel. I just wish there had been more of the interaction between the team. I really missed that. No, we didn’t have to revisit and rehash all of the past, but there just didn’t seem to be the same chemistry between them as there has been in other novels.

Don’t let my disappointment stop you from reading a very good novel! Please! If I’m to be honest, maybe I can admit that the lack of chemistry between the team might mean that they are all in better places and much more able to support themselves emotionally.

Yes, you can read this novel and follow along just fine. You won’t be lost. It’s a good solid standalone crime novel…however, don’t cut yourself short. This is a series that deserves to be read from the first book. If only you can see how wonderful this series is.

Until next time…
Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

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Review: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

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26114135I haven’t added a book to “my-best-reads-ever” in over 2 years…This book deserves to be there. I still don’t know what to think about it. I just know I couldn’t stop feeling whilst reading this book. My heart broke over and over again. The parts that I had trouble with coming to terms with morally are the very same parts I am most thankful for. For without those parts this would have been a very different story. It would have been a story of a young girl and her brother with no hope at all in a very violent world. It would have been a story that had no stars to guide Wavy in the darkest hours to find a better life.

Greenwood has done an amazing job of simply telling a story. She doesn’t try to make the reader take a moral high road. Nor does she warn us to stay off a path of despair. Instead, the reader is left to find their own way and to struggle with the road signs that we can easily read, but which are so difficult to understand.

Don’t read this book looking for some sappy love story….this novel will punch you over and over again in your guts. It is brutal. It will take your breath away…yet, once you finish the last page, you’ll marvel at the wonder that can be found in the world. It is both an ugly world….but more importantly, it is a wonderful world…There are so many wrongs in this novel and yet somehow, at the end, Greenwood has made it all right…

Wow…I’m so feeling this book…really….so thankful to have read this novel…

Until next time…
Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

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Review: Salem’s Cipher by Jess Lourey

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From San Francisco to Salem, Massachusetts, childhood friends Bel and Salem find themselves running away from psychopaths and toward hiding places for clues to a mystery they don’t even understand. In their quest to save their mothers, the presidential candidate, and the world, the women pick up more clues than they bargained for… and they find themselves. 

I’ve long admired Jess Lourey for her cozy mysteries (Murder by Month series, similar to Stephanie Plum books). So when Lourey came out with a gritty, suspenseful thriller I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m a happily-ever-after girl and I cover my eyes when a bad guy appears on the page! I took a chance and WOW am I glad I did. Salem’s Cipher is rich with art, history, geography, secret societies, conspiracy theories, federal agents, and cracking codes. I enjoyed the authentic friendship between the women, their mad MacGyver skills, and the sweet Mercy child. 

Even if this isn’t your usual genre, I urge you to take a few trips cross-country with this crew. It’s a little scary, a little bloody, and a lot fun!

-calliope 

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Review: The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

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22609358I loved this novel. It was such a pleasant surprise. I’m not even sure what I loved the most about it…the layers of mysteries….the hints of things to come…the love story…the other love story…the past…the present…or the future…there are so many different things to love that it is hard to choose one…so I shall just say I loved them all..

Yes, this will be a long series…one that still has a long way to go…but regardless of the fact, each book proves to be a solid read all on their own merits…and I don’t believe it will prove to be complicated series that you’ll struggle to remember and catch up when you start a new book, trying to remember the last book…

Although the romance is very essence of this novel…it certainly isn’t a romance novel to me…I think the writing and the atmosphere and the places around the world are very bit a part of that essence as are any of the characters….I dare say that romance haters (is there such a thing) will love this series every bit as much as those that consider themselves romance lovers (which I would not classify myself as).

Yes, I have only read the first book…but it doesn’t matter…I have no doubt that they shall all be just as wonderful in their own way…that’s just how much I loved this novel…

Until next time…
Urania

Review copy provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

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Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan 

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Frankie and Matt are so fun!  Frankie is anti-commitment… and Matt’s a little bit in love. Watching them work together and live in the same building is pure entertainment. And Matt is my favorite kind of alpha male – he’s buff, brainy, and full of tender loving care for the women in his life. Frankie appreciates the attention but can’t imagine she deserves it… until her best friends give her a reality check. 

I just love the boy chases girl, boy gets girl storyline. Sarah Morgan surpasses expectations of a predictable romance by developing Frankie’s friendships and family ties, as well as having her come to terms with her past. I also enjoyed the wedding, the Maine seascape, and the welcoming islanders. Oh, and the walks in Central Park!! 

-calliope

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