Urania

Review (Revisited): Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum

Posted by

0

IMG_3330Okay….so now I need to figure out how to review a book that I didn’t even read….

So yes, this isn’t really a review, but it does contain some of my thoughts about this book….

I was very excited to start this book….I’ve recently moved from the only country I’ve ever known to another country to be with my (now) husband. So I thought in many ways that this book would speak to me. That there would be parts that I could relate to. Also it’s has such a beautiful cover. I try not to judge a book based upon it’s cover, but I admit to being a sucker for one that is as beautiful as this one. Plus, when I glanced over the description (I try not to read full descriptions) it looked like exactly the type of book I enjoy….

So I started it….I will say I finally gave up at 25%…I did scan a few later chapters and I did read the last chapter….with the ending, it’s really a shame that I couldn’t get into this novel…because endings like this book don’t put me off….they don’t make me angry….they enrich my enjoyment of a novel because they are more real to life than some neatly wrapped up pretty package of an ending….

But back to why I just couldn’t read more of this novel…I just couldn’t relate to Anna at all. It’s not that I didn’t like her….or couldn’t understand her….she was just….errrr…lifeless….perhaps that was intentional, I don’t know…I’ve met people who were lifeless I suppose….I guess it would even make sense if it was intentional…as if Anna was only existing, and not actually living….hell, I said I looked forward to this book because I could relate….it wasn’t just moving to another country I spoke of….I’ve merely existed as well….but….I don’t know….Anna just felt flat to me….

I will say that from what I read this wasn’t a marriage/family thing…this is how Anna was long before she moved to another country….before she got married…and before she had children….and I understand to some extent what the author was trying to do here….Perhaps she is trying to paint the world that I was reading to mimic the world that Anna was actually in….

But on a personal level…I’ve been there…..and I have no desire to revisit that bleakness again….so maybe I am wrong in saying that I could not connect with Anna…perhaps I did…and wanted no part of it….

The way that the book was written was very confusing to me as well….I’ve read a few books that jumped from current time, to future conversations, to past conversations without warning and not had issues with it. It suited the book….I didn’t feel it suited this novel though..the more the jumps happened…well the more and more I felt that it was just another factor that was determined to prevent me from relating to Anna and her story….It was just another barrier that I couldn’t overcome….let’s be clear….It’s not that I didn’t like Anna….or that I hated Anna….heck, I confess to loving some books that I absolutely hated ALL the characters. I will even admit that some books have annoyed me to no end by the behaviours of the main character….but the writing and all the *stuff* going on in the novel….well….there was nothing to do but to read on and marvel at the writing…the feelings this novel inspired (which were few) did not inspire me to read on…I wanted to give up much earlier than I did, but I hate to give up on a book!

Again….this novel…it just fell flat for me 😦 I hate that it did. I really wanted to fall in love….but sometimes we just have to make due with the fact that not every book speaks to us…and we can’t love every one we read…..

Until next time…

Urania xx

Review copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review

and please….don’t bother committing on this review and telling me I shouldn’t rate it if I didn’t finish it…I can take a bite from a sandwich and know it’s not for me…I shouldn’t be forced to eat the whole thing before I’m allowed my opinion….I know after 25% that this writing style would never be for me….and I’m entitled to my opinion and yes, I’m allowed to rate it based on my feelings…don’t like it? Well…..get over it….oh….and have a nice day….x

Buy it now Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum

Review: Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates

Posted by

0

23281515Well, well, well….I asked a friend about this author as I was reading this book. Of course I’ve heard of Joyce Carol Oates, but this is the first I’ve read. I asked him if her writing was always so weird. After finishing the last page, I am completely flummoxed. I am also wondering if her writing is always so…well….weird.

It’s just from the very start this had a feeling of a sort of Stephen King short story feel to it. Then lo and behold, SK is mentioned over and over in the book. Again, it was weird. It reminded me of something Richard Bachman would write. So it got even weirder. As this book was *written* in the voice of a famous author that was using a pseudonym that no one was aware of. The weirdness just got weirder for me.

It’s like once the little seed had been planted the entire book was glaring at me with the whole SK/RB/pseudonym thing….Was this intentional? Yes, i think it was….Intentional I mean, well…..okay…..you have to read the book to understand what I mean….but I reckon the best way I can explain it is that I don’t think another JCO would read this way…That’s why I really enjoyed this book. It’s amazing that an author could change a writing style so much just to suit a book. I mean, seriously, how often have you read a book and knew that it read just like a XY&Z book? Authors have a certain style to their writing, but throughout this entire book, I kept thinking, she’s writing like this on purpose! Just to weird me out. So now I have to wonder about all of JCO’s other books.

Of course…if it wasn’t intentional, I am soooo going to be disappointed! But never mind….I shall just pretend it was! Hahahaha

I really enjoyed the ending….this is a short, quick read….go on and give it a try….I’m glad I’ve read it…even though….still……weird…..

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates

Review: The Keeper of Lost Causes (Department Q #1) by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Posted by

0

keeperHow many times to you keep seeing a title of a book and remind yourself weekly that you *really* should get around to reading it? Well, “The Keeper of Lost Causes” is a book I’ve been meaning to read for years. For one reason or another it just kept getting pushed to the back burner.

Now that I’ve finally finished it I feel that I need to give myself a swift kick up the arse for being a total idget and not reading it sooner! This is a detective novel for sure…there’s plenty of mystery and suspense to go around. The storyline and the suspense is truly enough to satisfy anyone that loves Thrillers. However, what is even more remarkable with this novel are the characters. Not the main character. Granted, once again, the head of Department Q is plenty enough to satisfy anyone…there is so much to his inner workings that you can’t wait to spend more time with him….however, the secondary characters are truly outstanding. There isn’t a single one that you don’t long to know more of. There are many that you can easily hate (but in an, “I LOVE to hate you” kind of way) but there are also a few that you will absolutely fall in love with. You will want to rush out and finish the rest of the series just so you can see where Adler-Olsen takes them. You will long to hear their background history…You will thirst to know what happens next. I simply can’t wait to revisit them all soon and to see what is happening with them.

Adler-Olsen has done a brilliant job in laying the foundation in a series that will have you wishing the characters were not only real people….but also part of your intimate circle of friends.

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now The Keeper of Lost Causes (Department Q #1) by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Review: The Nightingale (revisited) by Kristin Hannah

Posted by

0

21853621So are you a fan of Kristin Hannah? Read this book! Wait! You’re not a fan of Kristin Hannah? Oh well, read this book!!!! This is a book worth reading. From start to finish it had me completely captivated.

A few weeks ago I was talking to a customer about the War. I now live in England and of course the War still has a presence here. Sometimes you run into people who remember what it was like. Having to take in strangers that were forced from their homes…and their lives….This customer was one such lady…It was just a random conversation that comes up unexpectedly…but leaves you pondering the entirety of the conversation…voicing my thoughts about what people had to go through…well, it has left me to wonder about life for long hours after the conversation ended. See here’s the thing I pointed out to her….it’s not Hitler I wonder about….it’s the every day people….we are so quick to judge….so quick to say, “I would NEVER do that.”…however…..how can you ever know? If your child is near death and hasn’t a drop of milk and you only have to nod your head when a neighbor’s name is mentioned…what would you do? If you only had to pretend to not hear the knock at your door of a person in need of hiding to protect your family….would you turn a deaf ear? If you were starving and there were five bites of sawdust bread for your entire family, would you be tempted to eat two bits of the bread? How easy would it be to walk away and close your eyes to Jews being marched down the street to their deaths? How hard would it be to take a step forward and show your support knowing you might be forced to join them?

Here is that story that attempts to give you some insight to these hard questions. Here you have two sisters and a father…a father that has already come home from one war and now finds himself watching another….two sisters that each have different views of how to get through this war…Even though all three might have different ways of “living” during this time….who is to say which is the right way? As they perhaps judge one another for the choices they are making it is soon apparent to them all that there is no black and white in such circumstances.

The only clear truth one can surmise is that even though the three all take different courses of action to survive….that there isn’t a right or a wrong choice…

I don’t know what else to say….I love books like this…..because they make me realise how your life can change in an instance….it makes you realise just how bad and just how evil people can be….and just how pure people can be…it makes you realise that everyone has reasons why they make the choices that they do….it makes you realise that no matter how simple it is to judge someone by their actions that in reality you have no idea what is powering those choices…

Such a wonderful read…..not a comfortable read….but a wonderful one…

Until next time…
Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Joint Review: The Stranger by Harlan Coben

Posted by

0

strangerPegasus: Here’s the predicament: How far would you go for love? How far are you capable of going? I bet if you asked 1000 people, you’d get 1000 unique responses. Love is one of those emotions that has no universal meaning, and yet everyone knows it when they are hit with it. We all have different ways of expressing it, and we all have different depths to which we’ll go in order to keep it, or at least a resemblance of it. This is the central theme that Harlan Coben explores in his new thriller, The Stranger.

Urania: Seriously, Pegasus? That’s what you got from this thriller? Here I thought it was about “How long does it take you to realise you’re completely selfish and surrounded by the same type of selfishness of all those around you”….oh wait…no…….maybe it’s, “You never really appreciate something until it’s gone”? Yep…that sums it up for me….I just can’t decide which one is the best summary of this novel….

Pegasus: I see what you mean in regards to Adam and Corrine, but my point really applies to the secondary characters that got blackmailed.  Love, naivete and stupidity, all mean the same thing when it comes to those two;  they have this fucked up relationship in which none of them know how to express what they feel, and indeed realise what they are feeling.

Pegasus: I read this in 24 hours – it is a very quick and easy read, which is more or less what you tend to expect from a thriller, and in that respect, I enjoyed this book. However, I had issues with some of the characters. First off, the main character that the plot focuses on is Corrine. What happened to her, did she do what she is being accused of, and why did she do certain things. The answers to these questions were the epicenter of the plot, and yet Coben did a poor job in really fleshing out Corrine’s character. There was no emotion there, no real understanding, just a basic outline of a mum obsessed with her son’s school sports. I think this book would have really benefited from some flashback scenes. Enough to show us possible motive and the chance for the reader to actually give a shit about what happens to her. The same can be said for Adam. Coben portrays him as this alpha male type character that won’t let anything or anyone harm his family, but that is all we get. Again, this is where some flashbacks would have really helped in order to show his vulnerability and indeed a 3D portrait of his character.

Urania: Well at least on this we agree. However (don’t you just love it when I say, “however”….can you just see me rolling me eyes as I say it?) I think the way Coben portrayed the characters just validates exactly how I felt about this novel. The only question I have it was it intentional? We get to see both the husband and the wife take each other for granted. We get to see them both act in ways that does not make their partners feel valid or cherished. Corrine is portrayed as a somewhat controlling, unfeeling person by her husband from the start. However, as the novel goes on, her husband starts to appreciate her more. We see glimpses then, and only then, of how he has taken her for granted and suddenly he is missing her and appreciating all she means to him and his children. We see how she has tried to be fair to many of those around her…when at first, we were led to believe that she was totally self-centered and ignored anyone’s else’s needs or wants.

Pegasus:  I think Coben was playing on the whole unreliable narrator made most famous in Gone Girl.  However, (see, I can use that word too!) he failed.  He failed big time.  To have a successful unreliable narrator, you need decent characters. and these ones were simply not given the consideration they needed.

Urania:  This outlying theme of selfishness and lack of appreciation can be said of every single character in this novel if you look at them all as a whole. Every single problem/crime/relationship conflict can all be tied to these two things…0000000

But hey ho….isn’t that the way it is in the real world as well?

Pegasus: I will give credit where credit is due though: The plot outline was good and had it had the benefit of another 100 pages or so, I believe it could have been a very juicy and emotional story. Also, Coben did pose some questions for us to ponder: What does love mean? How do we define it? What lengths will we go to protect it? What does it mean to be “living the dream”? What is perfection? As he made me think, I will give Coben credit, as many thriller writers don’t achieve that.

Urania: I never realised you were such a romantic, Pegasus….Credit is giving by me to Coben for just enforcing my belief that most people are only looking out for #1….just saying….

Pegasus:  But doesn’t that go hand in hand?  We think we love someone, but really, are just looking out for numero uno. What one may see as love, another may see as pure selfishness.

Urania: Oh dear…oh dear me…I can’t believe I’m going to say this…but here goes…I’m getting up there in age…and a few years ago I would have 100% agreed with your statement, Pegasus…but now? Not at all…call me foolish, but there isn’t any of that looking out for myself any longer…I come second….of course it’s a joint second and I’m tied with him…but numero uno? That’s *us*….100%….

Pegasus: I’ve said this in a previous review of Missing You, also by Harlen Coben, that the author has picked apart at this massive theme, and yet only scratched the service. It left me, in my opinion, feeling like I’ve just eaten a good meal, but the final taste just didn’t come together as I’d hope it would do.

Urania: yea yea yea…whatever….you didn’t really think I was going to give you the last word did you?

Pegasus: (-:

Until next time…

Pegasus and Urania

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now The Stranger by Harlan Coben

Review: Solitude of a Birdcage by Brielle Skye

Posted by

1

birdcageOkay…I won’t lie. There are parts of this book that really made my stomach turn….okay….the whole background of the novel did this. It bothered me. A great deal. The whole cheating thing just bothered me. The fact that it was an ongoing thing. I found myself getting very angry. Disgusted with the characters. Disbelief. You name it I felt it.

Having said that, I finally had to sit bak and take a breather. Once I did that, I had to remind myself that, again, I wasn’t there. Yes, so many things were wrong here, but I’m still not sure that any of it was done in malice. Yes, they made many mistakes. Who doesn’t? Yes, they should have done a million things differently…but isn’t hindsight always 20/20…

One thing is for sure….Brielle Skye made me *feel* during this book. I felt a wide range of emotions. After finishing the last page, I STILL feel a wide range of emotions. I did enjoy the book.

At the end of the day, the only thing I can fault Skye with is her portrayal of Van. She was often shown as a selfish and uncaring person. I almost felt that Skye did this to somehow allow the reader to ease some of the guilt that we might feel for wanting Max and Isaac to persevere. I see so many authors do this. Make one of the victims out to be a bad person…as if they somehow deserved to be wrong…

Let me be perfectly clear here….If you are dishonest with someone it ALWAYS…I repeat ALWAYS…says more about you than it does the person you were dishonest to…no matter how bad a person they may be. You can’t control other people and make them into a more generous, loving, caring person….but you can control your actions to that person…how you act ALWAYS says something about yourself….not the other way around….

I understand why Skye felt the need to do this…to give us a reason to perhaps dislike Van…but I stand firm in my own personal belief that it wasn’t necessary…or even fair to the reader….

Skye gave us a story full of tons of emotions….mixed emotions….she gave us tons of stuff to feel….tons to ponder…..tons to rage against….tons to fall in love with…..I just wish she would have given us credit to deal with it as well…instead of an easy out….

********Finally…this is where you STOP reading this review if you haven’t read the book….that’s right….STOP….click off now…..

However…if you have read it…..there will be a second book….I personally loved the ending of this book….even if I did feel a jerk reaction….and swore just a tiny bit…..

But here’s what I’m getting at….I’m guessing in the second book that the plot thickens and we find out the shooter’s name….and I am saying right now….I think that person is DG…I thought that from the first meeting of him….I’m not sure why…..but there it is…..I also think Van is lying about that bit at the end….************

Okay…that’s it…I hated this book in so many ways….but I mean that in a good way….I really loved it once it was said and done….I was forced outside of my comfort box…and again reminded that we can’t judge others if we aren’t in their shoes…no matter how black and white it appears…no matter how wrong we feel it is……This was a book I didn’t want to end…and I needed it to hurry up and end so I could see what happened….I guess Skye gave me both of those wishes…haha

Until next time…

Urania xx

Review copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now The Solitude of a Birdcage by Brielle Skye

Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Posted by

1

mebeforeThis is another prime example of why I don’t read book descriptions. If I had read this book’s description I doubt if I would have given it a chance…If I had done that I would have missed out on this fantastic novel.

Yes, I won’t lie…it is sad….I would even say it is somewhat predictable. I knew long before the reader was *told* what was going on. I also knew how it would end. However, I will say that unlike a “Nicolas Spark” (yes, I am about to be negative about NS, get over it) I did not feel like the ending was done just to jerk on the readers emotional chain. I don’t feel like it was done for shock value. I feel it was done to keep the book honest.

It doesn’t really matter if you agree with the choices the characters made for their future (without giving massive spoilers here it is very difficult to discuss this novel)…the point of the novel is that it is ultimately the character’s own choice. No matter how much we love someone. No matter how much we want to do the right thing….at the end of the day we have to love those in our lives enough to let them make their own choices, even if we disagree with them with every fiber of our being.

Moyes does a fabulous job of pointing this out. Of, hopefully, making the reader aware that we shouldn’t be so quick to judge the actions of others. That we should never ever say what is right for another person.

I think much of the public think that the choices discussed in this novel are *easy* choices…or an *easy* way out of a terrible situation. After reading this novel I’m pretty sure it’s obvious that this just isn’t the case. Bravery and selflessness is shown by all the characters in this novel. Yes, it is something they are all struggling with….but at the end of the day they all put away their own desires to support an unbearable end…

I had my own personal beliefs about issues discussed in this book before I read it. I still have the same outlook after reading it. Bottom line….you have no idea of the struggles people go though, even those that are closet to you and ones that you love. You have no right to press your viewpoints on to someone else. You have no right to tell someone what they must do, even if you do so with the very best intentions….As humans we have a basic obligation to respect each other’s wishes and to not pass judgement on something we don’t have a clue about. No one knows how they would act in a situation until they are actually in THAT situation. You can tell yourself a million times that “I would never make that choice”, but until you’re forced to do so you really can’t be sure….

Yea…yea….yea….I know this is a rubbish review and you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about….so stop reading it already and go out and read the damn book whydon’tcha?

Until next time….
Urania xx

Buy it now Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Posted by

1

martianWhat a pleasant surprise this book turned out to be! Okay, come on now….admit it….many of you are like me….you hear “Sci-fi” and you automatically tune out of the conversation or turn the page and ignore all together….

I’m one of those annoying people who *say* they will read just about anything….however, even I draw the line at self-help books and Sci-Fi…….this book reminds me how much I am limiting myself by doing these silly things….If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a 1,000 times (WAIT!!!! DID MY MOTHER JUST INVADE MY BODY???? Who besides my mother says such silly things….”if I’ve said once….” Are you kidding me????) But really….I’ve said it many times….a book doesn’t matter what genre it resides in….if its a good book it can appeal to any type of reader. This is a good book!

I’ve seen it on countless Goodreads’ Lists….and when I saw it being offered for review at Edelweiss, I went ahead and applied….then when I was approved and I thought, “oh no…now what?”

Well, I finished a wonderful book and thought I would dive right into this one….it should be different and it’s rated so highly! Pretty much from page one it was a read that reached out and grabbed me. See here’s the thing about really good books…..they aren’t just about space, or romance or horror….or whatever else genre you wish to categorize them into….they are about PEOPLE….and every day struggles…okay…perhaps being stranded in space isn’t a struggle you’ll ever find yourself in….but you will find yourself in some sort of struggle at some point…and when the s**t hits the fan and it all looks like a hopeless mess, you’ll (hopefully) eventually say, “okay, let’s step back and tackle this bit by bit”…..but surly, if you look at the whole big, huge, all-encompassing problem you won’t ever find the strength to even start tackling it…..sometimes you have to just focus on one screw up at a time……

Yes, at times, I though the main character was just too darn smart….I mean he’s like Johnny Appleseed/Macgyver/Neil Armstrong/Gregory House/Chuck Noland/Truman Burbank all rolled into one…..and what person can NOT fall in love with a man like that?

At times the descriptions do get a big long….but I think the author needed to do that to make it easily understandable for us simple folk 🙂 Hahaha…..really, there’s some complicated stuff going on at times, but the author does a great job using layman’s terms so anyone can understand what’s happening…

This is a suspenseful read that will grab you right from the start….it will have you holding your breath and cheering….it will have you yelling, “Oh no!!” on numerous occasions…..and it will have you rooting for the hero and for a happy ending……

Until next time…
Urania xx

Review Copy provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now The Martian by Andy Weir

Review: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Posted by

0

oneplusMy first Jojo Moyes novel and I have to say that I can now add a new author to my favourites list. Moyes is one of those authors that you now hear so much about in the literary world that you might find yourself hesitant to actually read one of her novels! You might feel that she couldn’t possible live up to all the hype. You might put off reading one of her novels because, well….she’s talked about so often you just take for granted that they novels will always be there for you to finally pick one up at some point, but you see no need to drop all and read her now…..

I haven’t read any of her work probably because of a combination of those two different reasons….

It’s no secret that I’ve been a total slacker for the last year when it comes to reading. I’ve lost my reading mojo….I’m trying very hard to not pressure myself or to try to force reading back into my life. I still attempt to read most days….and I ALWAYS think about what I would like to be reading every single day….it’s just actually sitting down and doing it….and then trying to stay focused….or lost inside a book that I find difficult….

Having said all of that, this book grabbed me from about 30 pages in and it didn’t let me go….I read it in two days…..now back in the day I would have read it in a few hours….but two days for me at this point is saying that I absolutely loved this book. I could relate to all of the characters even though I can’t say I had much in common with them…I loved them all…

This book is about a family that is struggling….life just keeps throwing one thing after another at them…each member is facing their own battles….those battles are not only felt by one, but by all of them as they watch each other’s struggles. Finally, when they feel that they are moving forward and making progress, life yet again yanks the carpet out from under them. At times it is almost painful to watch.

However as this happens…and you think they just can’t take another bad thing, Moyes does the most amazing thing….She uses these events to bring the family together. See, it’s easy enough (or not) to just keep taking the knock downs and brushing yourself off….trying once again to go forward….but it’s an entirely different thing to see those around you go outside of their comfort zone to help one another. To feel as if they don’t want to go on, but they do…not for themselves….but for each other….these characters take steps, emotional steps, toward one another if for no other reason then to offer each other comfort and support. They might not be able to tell you where their next meal is coming from, but damnit, they are sure and certain that they will figure that out *together*….

Moyes proves here once again that the best things in life can’t be bought….and this family….despite having no physical wealth…well they are beyond rich in their treasure chest of love and a willingness to sacrifice for one another….

Until next time….
Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Review: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

Posted by

1

PerdidoHard to rate this one. I loved the story. I hated the main character of Isaac. I found him flat, boring, and a coward. However, Garuda is the one that I spent the entire book wondering about. I so wish this story had been told through his eyes. Garuda is one of the most complex characters I have encountered in a book. His story begged to be told. His voice demanded to be heard. If only Isaac had been the one in the background instead of Garuda…my entire thoughts about the book would be completely changed. Even with the shocking ending, I still love Garuda. Now THERE is a character worthy of his own entire book. I found myself only reading the parts of the book to reach the end of a part to just hear Garuda’s thoughts. Every moment I spent bored by Isaac was triple rewarded when I reached a part that I could hear Garuda’s thoughts. If Mieville had written as he did when Garuda spoke it would have been an all time favourite book…as it was, I’m just glad it’s over…

The ending of the book, which some would say, should have changed my opinion of Garuda and of Isaac did nothing but make me 100% sure….Garuda is a deep, multi layered character….Isaac is a f*cking pillock….that is all……

After reading this book I have no doubt at all that Mieville deserves all the recognition he has received for being a brilliant writer that no one else can match…based both on his voice, storytelling skills and originality….however, after reading this book I also have no doubt that he is just as deserving to all the criticism he has received as well…I don’t think I have every read such a brilliant book that was also made up of so much rubbish….

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now Perdido Street Station by China Mieville