Book Review

Review: Secondhand Stiff by Sue Ann Jaffarian

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20131204-095936.jpg Just released December 1!

This cozy mystery is the most recent in Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Odelia Grey Mysteries series, and I’ve read them all. Yes, I love a good cozy mystery with a female protagonist who pals around with cops, but there’s something about the characters that makes this series stand out. Odelia isn’t too perfect or too quirky… She seems real. She and her husband Greg clearly love each other but have regular arguments, too. Their extended family annoys them – hey, just like real life! Odelia’s nosiness gets her mixed up with the wrong crowd more than occasionally, but she manages to solve mysteries and save herself – from death, but not always from harm – with the help of Greg and their friends.

This particular book explores the world of storage unit auctions, secondhand stores, and illusions of grandeur. Odelia and Greg’s commitment to their family means this mystery is personal – and they’ll stop at nothing to prove their relative’s innocence.

When I read this book, I felt like I was watching it happen in real life. Jaffarian describes places and events so well that reading it became a movie in my mind. She controls her writing so tightly: a grilled cheese sandwich is written in with precision – just enough mention to picture yourself at the table with the characters, hearing the crunch and licking buttery fingers (she doesn’t say that, but I imagined it!), but not so much that it interrupts the flow of the story. That’s good writing.

Secondhand Stiff is a solid, funny, caper-ridden novel with well-developed characters and awesome writing. Sue Ann Jaffarian is one of the few writers I regularly seek out for new releases, which I’ll pay top dollar for. I recommend the whole series, but they can be read as standalone books or out of order.

-Calliope

Buy it now Secondhand Stiff

Review: Kentucky Christmas by Sarah Title

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20131206-230315.jpg New Release!

Kentucky Christmas is an upbeat, festive, romantic novella with pretty cool characters. Billie works in her dad’s vet office, and Andrew is a traveling salesman selling… yes, vet supplies. Only he’s a horrible salesperson. And he’s completely smitten with Billie. She returns the sentiments, and boom, romance ensues.

What I love about Kentucky Christmas is Billie’s insouciance and Andrew’s seriousness. Billie is up for anything, likes to party a little bit, and amps up Christmas with more kitsch than you can shake a leg at. Andrew appreciates Billie’s fun-loving attitude, just as she appreciates his way with electronics, his Clark Kent glasses and the way his trousers fit. 🙂

This isn’t a serious book. Sometimes you need a pick-me-up, and Kentucky Christmas did that for me, with tinsel.

-Calliope

Buy it now Kentucky Christmas

Review: Honeymoon in Paris by Juliette Sobanet

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20131206-001838.jpg New Release!

Honeymoon in Paris is a mystery wrapped in chick-lit, with a little romance thrown in. Charlotte and Luc begin their marriage in a small apartment in Lyon, France, where Luc romances the heck out of his wife ….
Until he starts keeping secrets.

For most of the book, Charlotte tries to unravel Luc’s mysterious past, while she herself unwittingly wades into the mystery. I liked Charlotte’s amateur sleuthing. I identified with her need to know what was going on, and also her obliviousness to some of the danger around her. (Call me nosy and naïve!)

I also liked Charlotte’s friendship with Lexi and Fiona. Their knowing glances, quick-catch-ups over pastry or texts, and occasional nights out seemed authentic. The girls are young, adventuresome, and pretty fearless. The book skewed a little young for my personal taste, but it brought me back to my 20s, and it was a pretty fun trip.

The supporting cast was a treat – sleazy Vincent, Devil-Loves-Prada-Glenn-Close Mireille, and spoiled Brigitte. Sometimes foils are just as fun as protagonists, and that was certainly the case here!

The only thing that bothered me about Honeymoon in Paris is the subtitle (A Paris Romance). This book wasn’t much of a romance. It was mostly chick lit and mystery, with a few lovey dovey scenes between the newly married couple. Because of the subtitle, I expected a romance and was disappointed. If the subtitle read A Paris Adventure, I would have been ready for the capers that ensued. The other Paris books in Sobanet’s repertoire skew more toward romance.

If you’re up for suspenseful chick lit and you’ve got your sleuthing hat on, you’ll enjoy Honeymoon in Paris.

-Calliope

Buy it now Honeymoon in Paris

Review: Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd

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20131202-090141.jpg This cozy historical mystery, set in England, has a little bit of a Regency romance feel.

Lucy, the rector’s daughter, and Robert, a magistrate and wounded soldier, notice some thievery and strange goings-on in the village. With a young woman disappearing, and the men of the village not quite acting themselves, Lucy and Robert put their heads together to investigate. That’s the main plot. The subplots include Lucy’s resistance to spinsterhood and wanting to find a husband, Robert’s difficulty coming to terms with his leg injury, and the strong friendship that grows between Lucy and Robert. I enjoyed the various threads and thought they were developed appropriately for a light mystery novel.

I also liked the characters’ efforts to maintain propriety and appearances, and Lucy’s subtle rebelling against all of it. The whole regency feel made Lucy’s visits to Robert seem almost taboo. It was fun to see Lucy doing a lot of things that other young women wouldn’t dare do in this setting.

Death Comes to the Village was a light read, with a slow and deliberate start. I totally loved it, from Lucy and Robert’s banter to the mental illness and morbidity. I read this book at night, and when I finished it, I was scared to go to sleep! The ending was somewhat of a cliffhanger, and I am eager to know if and when a Book 2 will be released.

–Calliope

Buy it now Death Comes to the Village

Review: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink Translated by Carol Brown Janeway

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readerThe last twenty pages of this book deeply affected me. I can’t even express it at the moment. I just wish I could take it all back and somehow unread the entire book. Then I want to read it for the very first time again…but this time somehow read it while being the person that read the last 20 pages…

This story is told by Michael Berg. It is told later on his life. He is looking back to a relationship he had with a woman named Hanna Schmitz. A woman who by one random act of kindness changes his life when he is 15 years old. Later on, he attends a trial and finds Hanna as one of the defendants.

At times this novel felt disjointed. However, the more I think about it, the more I am sure that Schlink wanted me to feel this way. This novel is told by Michael. It is his story of Hanna. Even as an older man, decades after his relationship started with Hanna, he is still unsure what she means to him. How she has changed him into the man that he has become. He understands bits of it. He can even rationalize much of it. But there is still mystery to much of it.

In some ways, I wish this story could have been told from Hanna’s voice. However, I realize that it would not be the story it was if it had been. I am both appreciative and frustrated with this knowledge.

Why did I love this book so much? At about 1/2 way through this book I was feeling very frustrated. I kept going back and forth on my feelings for Michael. At points I thought he was so unbelievably selfish. At other times I felt like he was almost a victim. At points I had the exact same feelings about Hanna herself. I was also becoming increasingly pissed off that I was not allowed to see inside of Hanna’s mind. With the last couple of chapters, none of those feelings changed….however, I was left humbled and a bit awestruck at my emotions. If I had been reading this book standing up, I might have even staggered a bit and found myself leaning up against the closest wall until I could find myself on steady feet again. It’s not that Schlink reviled anything I didn’t already know…it’s just the way that he brought it all into the light of day. Why??

Simply because this book didn’t just seem to provide answers and questions about the characters it was about. At this point…I had questions about myself. I am not even sure at this point what they are. I just know that they are bouncing back and forth within my mind, even at this moment. And much like Michael, I am not sure I will ever know the correct questions to ask. I am not sure that I will ever find the answers if I do. Much like Michael, I am not sure these questions need answered…perhaps they only need to be asked.

This novel moved me….and has given me so much to ponder…It’s a book that I *know* will stay with me for days, weeks, even years to come. One day, I will be walking down a lonely city street. The wind bitterly cold against my skin. I will be confident that I am happy and secure in my life. “The Reader” will be the furthest thing from my mind….then like a ghost of the past, Hanna will be there…walking along beside me…begging me, finally, to ask the questions just within by grasp….my mind will find itself, out of the blue, wrestling with the feelings this novel has brought to me….

Until next time

Urania xx

Buy it now The Reader

Review: Our Picnics in the Sun by Morag Joss

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20131129-122346.jpgA man trapped both physically and mentally after a debilitating stroke. His wife resentful and overwhelmed by his needs. A distant son who refuses to return to the home he worked so hard to escape. A harsh, unforgiving landscape. And two strangers who mysteriously appear at their doorstep one night. Morag Joss has given us a cast of characters worthy of a fulfilling, suspenseful story.

Howard and his wife, Deborah, are simple, eccentric country people who insist on living off the land and shun many modern conveniences. Their son Adam escaped his sheltered upbringing to become a successful businessman. Howard loves nothing more than making pottery and practicing yoga while Deborah spends her time weaving and tending to her home and garden. They also run a not-so-successful bed and breakfast. When Howard suffers a stroke and becomes completely dependent on Deborah for his most basic needs, feelings begin to change and long buried resentments rise to the surface. Both Howard and Deborah are desperate for the attention and affection of Adam. But time and again they are disappointed by his unfulfilled promises of a long past due visit. Complicating matters is a lingering guest, Theo. As Deborah’s relationship with Theo begins to grow, she starts to view him as a replacement for her absent son. However, dark thoughts soon start to cloud her judgment as she begins to question everything she thought her life has stood for up to this point.

This book was described to me as a psychological thriller, and it definitely had me on the edge of my seat waiting for “it” to happen. The author wove a story full of such secret and suspense that I just knew at any moment the bottom was going to fall out. Although I caught on to one of the cliffhangers at about three quarters of the way through the book, her writing is so beautifully lyrical and descriptive that I wanted to keep reading just for the pleasure of the journey. The ending did not disappoint me and all of my questions were answered, although I would describe this book as more of a suspenseful drama than a psychological thriller. A good read!

~Thalia

Buy it Now: Our Picnics in the Sun: A Novel

Review: The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

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cuckooDid you love watching Mike Hammer back in the day? Did Colombo melt your heart? Do you still dream of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe? I have to admit, I absolutely loved watching those types of shows. I loved the language. I loved the smokey rooms. I’m not quite sure how Galbraith has created that magic in a modern-day novel set in a modern-day London, but he has! I swear I heard those old voices in my head all throughout this novel as I read! It was surreal! I really seemed to be reading every line though a smokey haze in a room with jazz music playing in the background.

This is the first novel about Cormoran Strike. A modern-day detective that fought in Afghanistan and lost a leg. He is now barely making ends meet. He has a famous father that he does not talk to. His mother is no longer living. He has recently left his long time on/off again fiancée. He sleeps on a camp bed in his office. His hired help is temp agent that he isn’t sure how long he can afford. He sometimes drinks too much.

yea…yea…yea….sounds boring right? WRONG! There is so much more to Strike than meets the eye. There is a deep longing to know more about him. He keeps to himself. You can’t help but be intrigued by him. You want to know what makes him tick. There is no doubt that you feel a deep-seated morality to Strike. He seems to take the high road. Yet you get the feeling that he has had to fight for that part of him for most of his life. That he has been tempted and he has resisted….but at a personal cost….you want to understand why this is. What has drove him to become the person he is…the man, that for all outward looking appearances appears to be a failure, but one that once you meet him, you know this couldn’t be further from the truth….

Yes, I want to see more of this flawed mess of a man!

Okay, so you want to hear about the controversy over the whole J.K. Rowling thing? Well just forget about it! You won’t find any of that here….I will say, that it gave me pause. If I hadn’t known J.K. wrote it, I would have totally believed that this was written by a man. The wording just fit. She did a brilliant job with this. It just *seems* to be written in a man’s style. Now having said that, and *felt* that as I was reading the novel, it gave me pause…Do men and women write differently? Do we perceive their writing styles differently? Of course I am generalising here…but on the whole, do they? Before reading this novel, I would have automatically said no….but now I am not so sure…and since this was IN FACT written by a woman, well that’s just silly, isn’t it?

I hope Galbraith sticks around. I hope he writes a few more in this series. I *really* want to get to the “inner tickings” of Strike and I want to see where the relationship between him and his secretary goes….

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now The Cuckoo’s Calling

Review: This Is Not a Drill by Beck McDowell

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20131120-190720.jpgIn an ideal world, parents would send their little ones off to school each day worrying about nothing more serious than if they’ll have someone to play with at recess. Teachers would be free of the worry that they might have to step in front of an armed gunman to protect their students. And those precious little ones wouldn’t have to suffer through lockdown drills where they practice what to do if a “bad guy” gets into their school. Unfortunately that world does not exist.

Emery and Jake are high school seniors who spend time volunteering at their local elementary school. Their hours at the school are spent tutoring the children in French and just helping out wherever they can. It’s understandable that they’ve formed attachments to the first graders they spend so much time with. Brian Stutts is an Iraqi war veteran who is going through a custody dispute over his son, Patrick. Because he is suffering from violent outbursts as a result of PTSD, he is not allowed to spend unsupervised time with his son. A confrontation occurs between him and the teacher, resulting in an armed Stutts holding the first grade students, the teacher, and Jake & Emery hostage. The high schoolers must not only worry about their own safety but also the safety of the little ones who look up to them.

This is a fast-paced book that’s full of tension and suspense. The author tells the story from two viewpoints, switching seamlessly between Emery and Jake. It’s hard to take at times, coming so soon on the heels of Newtown and all the other school shootings that seem to be in the news on a regular basis. But, will there ever really be a perfect time to grapple with this issue? I also found myself feeling some sympathy for Stutts and what he experienced in Iraq. There’s never an excuse for this type of violence, but there are very real issues that must be addressed before we can even begin to end the violence. Regardless of your politics or where you stand on the issue of gun control, this is an excellent book for young adults and older readers as well.

~ Thalia

Buy It Now: This Is Not a Drill

Review: Flash and Dazzle by Lou Aronica

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20131118-215404.jpg Rich Flaster and Eric Dazman – otherwise known as Flash and Dazzle – are best friends. They work together at an ad agency and spend most of their free time together, too. Most of their male bonding time is over beer, takeout, video games, sports or movies, but that’s pretty normal for guy-time, right? And life would continue in that vein for Flash and Daz, except for a couple of bumps in the road. And one of them is big; insurmountable, even.

This book had a slow start and I couldn’t get into the first-person narration. Add to the fact that the protagonists are men and they live in NYC… I just couldn’t relate.

But almost halfway through, I realized I WAS into it. I cared about Flash and his career. I cared about Dazzle and his family issues. I cared about Eric and Rich’s friendship, and how it was going to play out.

The ending is wonderful (beware… the kindle edition ends before 90%) and the middle is pretty good too. Lou Aronica writes authentic dialogue and believable characters. And though the plot wasn’t what I was expecting at first, I appreciated Aronica’s approach to the themes of friendship, loss, grief, and love.

Three stars for solid writing, engaging dialogue and well developed main characters. Overall, I enjoyed it.

–Calliope

Buy it now Flash and Dazzle

Review: Perfume by Patrick Süskind

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perfumeOkay, so I HAD to read this one….The book was written in 1987, so it’s not a new book. I had never heard of it….however….for some reason all of a sudden I heard it mentioned 3 or 4 times within a month…I was determined to read it at this point…it had to be a sign right? So I tracked down an old paperback copy since it is not available on e-readers.

Well, I wish someone had told me it was full of symbolism. I seriously did not like this book. Don’t get me wrong…it has very high reviews and every time I mentioned it to someone who would tell me how smashingly brilliant it was….

Did I ever mention that the one class I never had to study for in high school was literature? Need I go further and tell you that I always started out wanting to read the stories we were assigned but once symbolism was sprinkled upon the pages I tuned out? Let’s take it a step further and confess that I passed many many a test having never read the book because of symbolism. I mean, really….if the story has been told dozens of times, why must we rehash it again and just substitute one object for another. I don’t think I’m so genius when it comes to symbolism. I just seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly what the author was trying to tell me without having to bother myself to read the book….this book was no different for me….once the main character
was caught, I knew at that second what was to happen…..how it was to end….

So what is the actually book about? I won’t tell you the symbolism…just in case you happen to like that sort of thing and wish to figure it out for yourself….This is a novel about Jean-Baptiste Grenouille born in the slums of France in the 18th century. Grenouille has an uncanny ability to remember every smell he encounters. He is able to peel the layers of odors apart and knows what they encompass. However, he has not “smell” of his own….He teaches himself the trade of perfumer. Along with no smell, he also possesses no real physical needs (other than the basic food and water needed in order to live). He doesn’t emphasize with people. He doesn’t love. He doesn’t feel a need to be accepted. He doesn’t socialize. He survives. Then it happens…In a single moment of time, Grenouille smells a scent he has never encountered before and seeks it out….a young, pure, innocent girl. He takes her life with no thought of all, just so he can relish in the smell of her. He then sets out to learn his trade in hopes that he can find some way to capture this scent as his own….

Read the novel if you want to know what happens at the end…and what does his lack of scent mean? And what is it he is actually seeking in his *special* perfume….

but this novel (and the reason chose to review it) did bring up a very interesting question in my mind. One that I had to put the book down and ponder it for quite a while. Where does our sense of smell come from? Why is it that certain scents warm our hearts? Make us drool (oh come on….am I the only one that drools over fresh-baked cookies?????) What makes some scents so unpleasant to us? Sure, we all know that if you work at a paper mill, the scent of those chemicals will make most people retch, but for that worker that collects his pay from the mill….well, it turns into a pleasant scent. We all also know that if we open a container of play doh that it doesn’t *really* smell good, but it does bring forth our fond memories of childhood. Don’t even get me started on what happens to me when I walk into a coffee shop! We all have smells that do that. Memories and scents are so closely connected…..however…..what about new scents? what about going into a new restaurant or a foreign country for the very first time? How does our sense of scent determine the new smells that we love and those that turn our stomach?

So although I didn’t care for the symbolism and all that, I can really appreciate a book that can make me stop and think….so there you go….

until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now Perfume