Book Review

Review: Love Gently Falling by Melody Carlson

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Love Gently Falling is a love story – but not just a typical romance. In this wintery tale, Rita returns home from her west coast stint as a hairdresser to the stars. She learns to appreciate her family, finds the opportunity to strengthen an old friendship, and befriends a former classmate.

I liked that as the book progressed, Rita gradually changed her mindset from focusing on worldly and material bounty to appreciating relationships and lovingly serving others.

Johnny was a perfect gentleman, generous of heart, encouraging, and candid. He may have showed a little sap here and there, but for the most part he was a good example for Rita to follow.

My favorite parts of the book were when Johnny was really loving Rita as another human being, before a romance even began.

Would that we all would take an opportunity to serve others, today and everyday.

-Calliope

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Review: How to Bake the Perfect Christmas Cake by Gina Henning

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Cute romance about Lauren, a smart professional who just got a promotion, and Jack, the seemingly-perfect guy who runs hot then cold.

I liked Henning’s vivid descriptions of Jack – I could certainly picture him, which I believe is VERY important with a good-looking romance novel hero. 🙂
And I liked how clever and sarcastic Lauren could be. The two of them together cracked me up.

I thought the inclusion of so many song references was a little corny, but maybe I’d feel different if I were more of a music fan.

The big issue I had with this novel is that there was no conflict, no roller coaster. Henning wrote the plot on a slow but steady incline – their love for each other grew until it was time to make a big decision. The whole time I was waiting for something big to happen! Were Jack’s phone calls a cover for something bigger? Was Aunt Minnie who she said she was? Would Lauren have a nervous breakdown? But … nothing. Just the steady plodding on, listening to Jack’s silly phone calls.

Know what I loved, though? Lauren’s Christmas present for Jack. Actually I thought they both did a wonderful job finding the perfect gifts for each other. And preparing for Christmas with the family rocked. As did the cake, because who doesn’t love cake?!

-calliope

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Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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*1Pride and Prejudice is one of my daughter’s favourite books. She has multiple copies and has read it more than a few times….I confess I did not read this book until I was an adult…shocking I know! However, to make up for lost time, I have now read it twice and I reckon I need to read it at least one more time! Since her birthday is coming up next week I wanted to post a review just for her…so here goes….

Ok, so I didn’t know anything about this book (yes, I know I know…sometime I feel as if I must live under a rock). I saw a great local play of it that really helped me out in following the book (This play was also the start of my daughter’s love affair with the novel). That’s it though. I haven’t read the book before now and I haven’t watched the movies, so I went into this blind. This review will be based on that fact! I haven’t read all the blogs and I am not an Austen fan that knows all the background history…Please keep that in mind if my review is way off base and ya wanna kill me 🙂

The first thing that comes to mind is what did Austen really think about “the dating scene” back then? The people who really stood out to me are the parents. Even the difference between the sisters themselves. You have one side that sees it all as a joke really and the other side that takes it to the extreme. I just had to wonder, was Austen making fun of society at large throughout the entire book? Pointing out how shallow people were (still are) and how easy it is just to make a quick judgement against people based on what “society” expects?

I *really* want to know what Mr Darcy was feeling during all of this. Yes, we know what he tells his beloved Elizabeth, but I want to feel his emotions as he getting to that far away point of blurting out his feelings…both in the middle and the end of the book.

That is what did it for me. Austen really just gave me enough details for me to gobble up the whole story line, but left enough out to drive me crazy with my imagination working overtime! It’s not that she didn’t tie up loose ends. Or she left something undone. She gave us *just enough* to be satisfied yet yearn for more. I so totally understand why people read this book multiple times. I think to truly appreciate it, you need at least one re-read….but alas…not today…..

I hope you have a wonderful and happy birthday, Amanda…I love you…

Until next time….

Urania aka mom xx

Buy it now (FREE!!!) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Review: The Dead Wife’s Handbook by Hannah Beckerman

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***!I can’t really say that this is a bad book. It’s just so depressing. I suppose people might think differently….that the dead wife comes to terms with her lot and everyone ends up being as happily ever after as possible….but the wife is still dead….so screw that….life doesn’t just happen because it’s fate and it was meant to….sometimes life just sucks…..

Okay….maybe I’m jaded. My pops died several months ago and I think it is still hitting me….I find myself thinking of him more often then not lately and I overwhelmed sometimes….maybe that’s why I disliked this book so much….but maybe it isn’t.

We’ve all been told and comforted by the thoughts of our loved ones watching over us….right? Well this novel really put that into perspective for me. However, it was no comfort at all. It’s horrifying. None of us are saints. Sure, some people will be saintly and be happy to know that our loved ones continue to live and move on from their grief. However….let’s be honest…..would you really like to watch your husband and daughter move on with their lives without you…..we’re not talking mythically….we are talking literally….

Because of my dad and the reasons that he died….I’ve been angry….I love him…not one bit less….but I’m pissed at choices he made and how those he left behind have to continue on without him….however….to think of him sitting there looking down and watching us suffer because of those choices…well, it makes me ill.

Yet, this is a novel where a dead wife is made to watch her husband and daughter move on in life without her….no matter how happy she is supposed to be…..it must be horrifying….

But to take it a step further….if we actually know that our loved ones are watching our every move….and not just the *romanticized* version of looking over us……well, I can’t even imagine how that husband could have coped.

I won’t go on….it’s obvious how this book made me feel. Maybe it will give someone else comfort. However it just depressed me. I will also note that although time elapsed 2 plus years in this novel, I didn’t feel as if the daughter aged at all. Her behaviour at the end seemed pretty spot on to what her behaviour was at the start…..I think the author got the behaviour correct at the start, but that the girl needed to progress….not how emotions or how she felt about her mum….or the new person in her life…..but just how she expressed it. She still acted like the 7-year-old at the start and not the almost 10 year old….although it’s not a huge age difference, the behaviour between the two ages for a young girl is huge….I also thought the added drama (no spoilers) that the new love interest shared of her life was unnecessary and was only added to gain sympathy votes from the reader….it had the opposite effect on me….I felt that the author tried to make this woman out to be absolutely perfect…..and really……no one likes perfection…..so although the whole subject was horrible, the author wrapped it all up in the disguise of happening to perfect people…it would have been much more interesting if at least one person got ugly and things got messy….instead everyone just gathered around at the end and sang Kumbaya…..

ummmm….no……that’s not for me……

Now that I’ve run my gob……Please don’t let my somewhat negative review put you off this book….it was a very personal read for me and one I might not be emotionally equipped for at the moment….then again, this book was utterly depressing for me…..the whole concept….before I started it, it seemed like it would be fascinating….but right from the start it was just so depressing…..so hey ho…there you have it….I can’t tell you if you should or shouldn’t…..but if you start it and find it depressing for the reasons I mentioned….well….don’t expect it to change by the ending….

Until next time….

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Review: Sister Eve, Private Eye by Lynne Hinton

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I read a lot of amateur sleuth mysteries. Sister Eve is a little younger than the usual sleuths I read, and she rides a Harley, and she’s a nun, AND her dad is a former detective. Refreshing and appealing!

I loved Eve (Evangeline) and her candor. She reminded me a lot of myself: A little brash, a little naive, a little impulsive. When she suspected a certain guy as the perpetrator of the crime, she just drove down to his house and jumped the fence. She had no backup plan. She didn’t even have a primary plan! Her haste made for some funny moments and even a possible meet-cute. (I see romance in every novel!)

I enjoyed Hinton’s other characters, too: the injured and stubborn dad, the greasy film producer, the martyr sister, the pretty young actress…
But the plot just didn’t come together smoothly for me. Storylines are aesthetic… Liking a plot line comes down to your personal taste. I think this one just didn’t do it for me — the whole film world turned me off. I didn’t like the deviousness and quirks of the characters in the film industry. Even pretty Megan annoyed me when she didn’t stand up for herself.

The crime SOLVING, though… That was my cup of tea. Sister Eve and her friends who just happen to have information to help her solve the case… Eve’s brainstorming sessions with her dad… The police on the fringe of the true investigation… All very well worth the read.

My favorite part? Eve taking another leave of absence from the convent, because that means she might have another crime to solve soon.

-calliope

buy SISTER EVE, PRIVATE EYE

Prison Noir edited by Joyce Carol Oates

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*1This is a collection of short stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates. The authors of the stories are all prisoners in the United States prison system.

If you’re a fan of short stories, this is well worth your time. If you’re not a huge fan of that genre but are interested in the correctional systems, again this is well worth your time.

Some of these stories are *really* good! They are so good that it is easy to forget that they were all written by inmates. Having said that, what the hell does that even mean? Like it is unheard of that an inmate can actually write….psssffffttttt…..

It really made me stop and think about society’s narrow-minded view…..about my own narrow mindedness….I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting when I started this book. What I expected the stories to be like….however, it wasn’t what I was expecting….

I can only be reminded of a line from Charlie Chaplin’s great dictator speech “You are not cattle. You are men.”

Yep…pretty much sums it up for me. Regardless of how they got there…or why they are there….Prisoners are not just numbers. They are not just some faceless shadow on a wall that we dare not look at….

These stories demand that we take a look at them….they demand that we look eye to eye….sure, you might not like what you see….if might not change your feelings one way or the other….but damnit…you will at least see them…..

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now Prison Noir edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Review: Mocha Sunrise by Julie Carobini

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Best friends Livi, Bri and Gaby love each other like sisters, including telling it to each other straight even when the truth hurts. When Livi is mentally tortured by her antagonistic cousin/roommate, Bri and Gaby give Livi good advice – that she fails to follow.

Then Caleb enters the picture. Though he’s fighting his own demons, he forms a trifecta with Bri and Gaby to defend Livi. They push Livi to get out of her rut, push through, face her fears, make some decisions.

I like that Julie Carobini writes this story based on friendship, and maintains that main plot even while other things are happening to Livi – getting arrested, having job problems, meeting a new guy. I read a lot of contemporary romances, and none seem to hold the friendships in as high a regard as the romantic relationship. Mocha Sunrise focuses on the strength of friendship even while the best friends have romance in their lives.

I totally loved seeing Livi and Caleb find themselves as individuals and come together as a couple. Their transformations were amazing – from two uncertain and uneasy characters to honest and discerning people who were so authentic that I shed tears for them. 🙂

I appreciated Carobini’s hopeful and uplifting messages delivered by Caleb. And as I read Mocha Sunrise I felt a sense of peace and joy. How appropriate for this Christmas season.

-calliope

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Review: The Kiss Before Midnight by Sophie Pembroke

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Molly is the baby of the family, and her siblings always took her for a flake. So the year she finally moved out and got a job in London on her own merit was supposed to be the year of her dreams.

Instead, Molly spent the year thinking about family friend Jake, and the kiss he shared with her last New Year’s Eve. Jake spent the year thinking about it too.

It was so much fun to watch Molly and Jake dance around the kiss they shared the year before. Sophie Pembroke wrote in the perfect amount of flirting, holding back, candor, humor, and misunderstanding.

This was a lovely story around Christmas time… Joyful, uplifting, romantic, full of family love, and ending happily ever after. 🎁🍷🎄❄️
-calliope

buy THE KISS BEFORE MIDNIGHT

Review: Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

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*1Well, since Thanksgiving is tomorrow (although being in the United Kingdom now we don’t celebrate this one :-/ ) and since this is a novel about a food blogger…and well….I am a kinda sorta blogger myself….I reckoned it was a good idea to post this review now….

If you check out the reviews for this book they are all over the place….I reckon this means that you either love this book or you hate it…Well, not me…I really enjoyed it….I didn’t love it…but in no way did I hate it….I thought it was charming. Julie was bit of a drama queen, but I loved her. I understand her sarcasm perfectly! It started as a blog and of course if you read any blogs you can understand how witty, engaging and entertaining her blog must have been. This is a movie that I have actually seen for once and I thought the movie and the book went along quite well together. Amy Adams was a perfect fit for the role and I had no problem imagining her as I read this book. If you’ve ever wanted to start out to do something fun and it rolled into something that totally stressed you out and encompassed your entire life…yet you were too stubborn to back down and throw in the towel…or you cared too much…..If you became so obsessed with it that you sometimes forget the other “going ons” in the *real* world….well this is a book you can relate to….I laughed out loud at times and I totally cringed at other times….and I sincerely felt her frustration and the “I’M. AT. THE. END. OF. MY. ROPE. AND. I. JUST. WANT. TO. LAY. DOWN. AND. CRY. PLEASE. DON’T. TALK. TO. ME. FOR. AT. LEAST. 5. DAYS. I. CAN’T. BE. BOTHERED”…..

If the book lets you down at points, well one must only remember that this started as a blog and with momentum and life it rolled into a movie and a book….If it had started out as a book, then turned into a movie and then finished with a blog, well it would have been written in a totally different style I think….

This book gives me hope that it’s true…we all have a book in us just waiting to be written down….

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

Review: The Barefoot Sisters Southbound (Adventures on the Appalachian Trail) by Lucy Letcher and Susan Letcher

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IMG_1481.JPGIf you’re a hiker or a camper or an outdoor nature lover, you’ll love this book. And even if you’re not (I’m not, really), reading Southbound lets you experience eight months of hiking without *actually* hiking. Which is kinda cool too.

I bought this book for my kindle in November 2011. Three years ago! It got buried under my virtual TBR pile until last week when my friend Maureen said she was going to dig it out of her own TBR pile and start reading it.

The beginning was a little rough reading for me: descriptions of mountains and hills and trails and supplies… Chapter after chapter… Repetitive.

Then about a third in, I mentally hopped on the trail with the sisters, and really felt like I was there. The brutal, bone-numbing cold, meeting up with the Family from the North, rank hiker smell, mountaintops pushing through the fog, and cold streams of water… I could feel it and taste it all.

Southbound is written beautifully, with rich vocabulary, unapologetic candor, and authenticity. I appreciate the gradual piecing together of the journey, the landscape, the relationships. Slow and piecemeal is how real life happens sometimes. The “summit” at the end is much, much less than the sum of its big, glorious, painful, joyful parts.

The sisters yo-yo’d and wrote a book about their trip back northbound. I’ll be reading that next.

-calliope

buy THE BAREFOOT SISTERS SOUTHBOUND

buy THE BAREFOOT SISTERS WALKING HOME
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