Urania

Review: Golden State by Michelle Richmond

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goldenstate***Sneak Peek Review! “Golden State” will be released on February 4, 2014***

I picked up a book years ago that was entitled “The Year of The Fog”. I devoured it in hours. I absolutely loved it. I rushed out, purchased multiple copies and sent them out in the mail to the only readers I knew at the time. I then proceeded to read her other works. Sadly, that’s been over 7 years ago! I’ve never forgotten how much I enjoyed TYotF and I often browse looking for a new release from Richmond. I joined up for her newsletter via her website and heard very little. Then FINALLY!!! I got an email that said she had a new book coming out! I quickly checked my ARC websites and saw the book in both NetGalley and Edelweiss….I quickly applied to both sites to snag my copy…and surprisingly enough I was approved by both websites. I can’t remember being so excited about a book for a while now.

It wasn’t soon that I was completely worn out from hooting and hollering and dancing around the house from all of my excitement. Suddenly, as I sat down to catch my breath, I was dejected. I had waited so long for this book to be written, now it was here…what if I hate it? What if the love I felt for TYotF was just a fluke? What if I am so disappointed in this novel that it even takes away from my previous feelings of obsession to getting to my next Michelle Richmond read? What if the writing is so awful that I start to doubt what I felt in the past? I was torn….to start the book or to stare at its cover for a time and just imagine what might be between the covers?

Heck!!!!!!! You guys know me, RIGHT???????? I ripped into this baby so fast!!!!! I couldn’t wait to start it! Was I disappointed? Heck no!!!!!! It’s a Michelle Richmond novel! I absolutely loved it from start to finish!

I think I might have loved it even a bit more than TYotF….

This novel is a day in the life of Doctor Julie Walker. Of course, it’s no ordinary day. California is in the midst of a game changing election day. Her sister needs her help pronto. Her Jeep is broken into. And two men in her life are not where she needs them to be. And this ladies and gentlemen is only the beginning….

Now let me forthright and honest here for just a moment….I wish there was a bit more to the ending…that Richmond had taken it just a little bit further…I wanted to see just a smidgen more of the side story of the novel (and for sake of spoilers, that’s all I will say on that subject)

Also, it needs pointed out that Richmond has a unique writing style. She doesn’t blurt out the plots. They are just there…yes, you sort of know what they are, but at the same time, you’re not 100% sure. All the while, Richmond drops bread crumbs along the trail and confirms her story or throws in a small twist that has you wondering….

At the same time, she jumps back and forth. It can be frustrating if you want things laid out in a straight path to follow. One moment, the main character is in the present, the next second she is 3 hours earlier or a decade earlier. The only way you have to follow is to simply LISTEN to thoughts of the main character. Soon enough, if you just relax, you can follow along just fine.

I was sitting there after I finished the book, pondering it all (did I mention I LOVED the book?) and I realised, really, think about it, isn’t that how we really are? We jump from the present to what we had for breakfast this morning…and then a moment later a song, or a smell, or for some reason we don’t even know, think back to a time in our past. To a memory. Pondering how we got to this place in time. Memories are a great tool. They help us live our current lives and they help shape our futures as well. Memories are not just something that we leave behind and forget. We never know when they are going to hit us.

I think that is why I love Richmond so much. She has a way of writing that I really feel like I can connect with the character. I am there with them, confronting the memories. Dealing with their guilt. Or their anger. Or their confusion. I am there feeling them realise their imperfections. Accepting their blame. I am the one trying to find forgiveness. I am the one who is trying to change for the better. I can’t recommend this book enough. I really can’t. I won’t say that it’s a perfect format for writing. I won’t say this is a literary gem that will challenge all the writings throughout time. But I will say, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT YOU HOLD HOLY, DO NOT MAKE ME WAIT ANOTHER 7 YEARS FOR THE NEXT BOOK, MICHELLE RICHMOND!!!!

Bwhahahahahahaahahahaha….go get this book!!!! As fast as you can! Still not convinced? Maybe a few quotes will do for you…

I understand how families become estranged, not by design, but by embarrassment. You come to a point when so much time has passed that it seems impossible to make the first move.

We tend to see life as a continuum, Julie, but really, it’s a series of phases, generating a series of different selves. You leave one life behind and start another. And each time, a different version of yourself emerges.

I guess I’m just stuck on the idea that there’s this monumental machine, and we’re all part of it. Most of the time, we don’t even stop to think about how it works. We just go about our business, doing our part, trusting that everyone else will do their part, and the machine will keep functioning. But all it takes is for someone to come along who isn’t thinking straight, some who’s not paying attention, or worse, hell-bent on self-destruction and everything turns to shit.

Go on then! Buy the book!!!!

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now Golden State

ARC provided by NetGalley and Edelweiss for an honest review.

Review: Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse

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aaaThis book was a fast suspenseful read. It takes place in England and has links to the East Coast in The States as well. After a short romance Hannah Reilly and Mark Reilly marry. Hannah has always had trust issues, but Mark sweeps her off her feet and soon she has left The States to live her happily ever after with Mark in London. Everything seems to be going well. Hannah believes she has found true happiness and is learning how to lean on someone else and trust them to provide for her. However, all of that changes when Mark misses a flight home from New York. Hannah means to surprise him at the airport but he never shows up. Once she hears from Mark, her unease starts to ease up….but left alone, Hannah starts to question what she has been told….after talking to others, things start to really have her questioning Mark and her entire relationship. Just how well does she know the man she loves and married? One question leads to another…and Hannah is forced to question her own feelings and psyche! Is she looking for things that don’t exist? Is she letting her past insecurities question her current relationship?

Whitehouse does a brilliant job not only making Hannah question herself, but also having the reader question themselves. As a reader, I felt I had it figured out…I knew who the bad guy was…but Whitehouse puts just enough of twisted characters in the story that you often find yourself changing your mind as to whom you should trust….At points, you wanted to scream at Hannah for being so trusting…and at other times you wanted to scream at her to let go of her trust issues from the past….I found myself standing up for Mark and trying to justify his actions, every bit as much as Hannah did in the story….I almost felt like Hannah and I were volleying back and forth…She would find a reason not to trust Mark and I would justify his actions in my mind….she would justify his actions and find a valid excuse and I would point out why he could not be trusted…

This is a quick easy read that is sure to have readers wanting to discuss it with others….

ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now Before We Met

Review: 600 Hours of Edward by Craig Lancaster

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600 Hours of EdwardHave you ever heard of author named Craig Lancaster? What? Did you just say no? Well, here’s your tip for the year…write the name down. Remember it. Go get this book to start with….you won’t be disappointed….And if you haven’t heard of him before, remember, you heard it from a muse first, he’s going to be really famous one day….

What can I say about this book? It was just simply charming. Edward is someone I would love to have in my life. He is a 39-year-old man who some would say suffers with OCD and a mild case of Asperger’s Syndrome. I would vehemently disagree. He does not suffer at all. We could all learn a lot from Edward. Oh man, how much I loved this guy…. What could we possible learn from a 39-year-old man who suffers from these “mental illnesses”? Let me just name a few….we could all learn that not everything can be judged by face value. We could all learn that it isn’t just about you! Other people matter and they have their very own version of what is happening…one that might not coexist with how you are viewing the situation. We might also learn that sometimes, even if we can’t say it out loud, we are often frustrated, hurt and angered by others…that even if we don’t say these things out loud, that we should at least acknowledge these feelings in some way….Sometimes when we are frustrated or angry with someone, confronting them is not always the wisest thing to do. Sometimes, just acknowledging the feelings to ourselves really is enough! There are many many other life lessons in this story….but I leave you with this final thought and then some quotes….

Sometimes being a friend means that you have to make the effort to step outside of your comfort zone…you have to be there for someone else, even if it means you must be brave enough to cross a dangerous street all by yourself….damn, did I mention how much I love Edward?

“That’s the problem with belief: If you rely on it too heavily, you have a lot of picking up to do after you find out you were wrong.”

“I hope you do exist. Even though hope is as intangible as belief, I am not hostile to it.”

“The complaint lies with me, not with you. I never could find a way to make you proud of me, and at some point, I think I stopped trying. When you were here, I blamed you for that. I think now, the failure is mine… It occurs to me that death is a funny thing – not funny in a laughter sort of way, but in a twisty sort of way. It’s the people who are left behind who have to grapple with the regret. The one who is gone is just gone.”

Please read this book….please….c’mon, when have I ever asked you guys to read a book? Go on then! What are you waiting for??????

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now 600 Hours of Edward

Review: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

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a“The White Tiger” is a written confession from an Indian driver who murders his employer. It is told with matter-of-fact nonchalance by Balram Halwai. A man who grew up in the slums of India, “overcame” his birth status, became a #1 driver, a murderer, and finally an employer himself.

What can one say about a book such as this? I look at the some of the reviews and I wonder how it can have such a low rating. Is it because people are turned off by the matter-of-fact tone of Halwai? Are they disenchanted with the unsaid social commentary of India? Are they disgusted with the story that Halwai tells? Are they dissatisfied with “justice” in the world Adiga paints? Are they waiting for the author to tell them what to think? Are they waiting for Halwai to justify his actions? To show some redeeming quality, allowing you to forgive him? Are they the type that think every novel should have a beginning, a middle and an end? Do they expect happily ever after?

Here’s the thing….This might be Adiga’s story….it might also belong to Halwai….one can say it even belongs to all of India…but the thing is…this is the reader’s story as well. What you take from this story is what you put in to it. Aravind Adiga is young author…but he’s smart enough to know that sometimes the best novels are the ones left to the reader to decide. Some travesties don’t need pointed out. It might seem that Halwai has no feelings or is two dimensional…but this is his life. He’s not painting a pretty picture…he’s just laying out the facts. Adiga is the one who is leaving it up to you, the reader, to sort through these facts.

So, once you’re born into the social caste system of India, are you ever *really* able to move from one to the other? Should one be resigned to his/her own fate? Do we follow the customs of generations, even if they are the very same customs that bind us to future failures? Must we follow the way it has always been done, even if that way ensures us that no new path can be forged? Do we never question how things are, simply because they are the way things have always been? Does Halwai really have no feelings about right and wrong? Are is it that he is just so bone weary tired of it all? Does he really not care? Or is he just overcome with so much feelings of hopelessness?

What about nature and nurture? How does that play into how we justify our actions? Can one really blame society for that which we become? Is it possible to justify our actions in our own minds by blaming the limits our society puts upon us?

How can one even begin to change the history of the past? How corrupt does a government need to be before a nation lose all hope for any type of change? Can a person who benefits from a broken social system ever really want to be the one who fights to make it right? Will we ever learn to trust one another? Can someone who has nothing ever be satisfied with that? Should they?

Can an outsider ever *really* understand?

Yes, the questions I have after reading this novel are more than I had before. Will I spend countless hours debating this? Will I look at the world a bit differently now? yes. yes. yes…..yet….Adiga did not ask a single one of these questions. Halwai did not point out a single one either. It’s a brilliant writer that can evoke so much from a reader….that can sit back and not try to lead you down the path to self discovery. That doesn’t feel the need to blurt out the answers…..I thank him for his discipline….

How can I not love a book like this? Yes, it’s ugly and it’s dirty. Yes it’s unfair. Yes, it’s true….it has no beginning…nor even a middle…and certainly no ending. It has no one clear victim. It has no single hero. This is life….pure and raw….ugly and bleeding….helpless and innocent….corrupt and hopeless….

So tell me….what are you going to do about it? Turn the other cheek, give it a bad rating, and hope to forget all about it? Go on then….I dare you to….

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now The White Tiger

Announcing the Giveaway Winners! Muses’ Favorite Books of 2013

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Drum Roll Please….. The winners for our Best Books of 2013 Giveaway are:

Alice G for A Hundred Summers
Faith McLaughlin for Left Drowning
Sprite for I am Malala
Kimberlyn for N0S4A2
Jennifer for Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Krista Irvin for Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Congratulations!

Winners, please send us your email address here on the blog, randommusesblog@gmail.com, or via private message on the Random Book Muses Facebook page.

This weekend we will send the winners their Kindle books.

Thanks for entering! Watch for more giveaways on the blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Review: The Perfect Match (Revisited) by Kristan Higgins

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aaOkay, as most people know, I’m not exactly a romance fan…I reckon I was years ago at some point, but I haven’t been for a very long time…I do remember that I grew up on historical romance! I used to love those books when I was a young teen. They took me to another life…far away from the one I had….I guess that’s it…I used to have a special place in my heart for historical romances, but contemporary romances have never “wowed” me…of course, there is always the hope that I’m going to find a great read from one and from time to time I’m sucked in by all the rave reviews I hear others making….

So this brings me to my first Kristan Higgins book. I’ve thought about reading her a few times…I’ve heard great things about her….and a few have a British love interest….and….well….since I am American and now have a British love, well….that was yet another reason I wanted to give her a try…So here I am….

I have to say, I didn’t have high hopes for the book…sadly enough, I just don’t anymore when it comes to contemporary romances….However, once I started this book, I found myself sincerely enjoying it. I found the characters engaging. I wanted to see what happened to them…of course!!! It’s a romance! We all KNOW how it’s going to end! I mean, it’s Kristan Higgins, right 🙂 But I still wanted to finish the journey and see the paths they traveled to get to the HEA…

About midway though the book, the old negative me came to the surface and I found myself becoming bored and distracted….alas, I was a bit irritated with myself…why must I be so difficult?

But this is Kristan Higgins! She knows how to deal with willy-nellies like me! She pulled me right back into the fold and I was actually wanting to cry at one point! I was sad…and I was happy…and I was sad again….once I finally went down the path to the HEA, I was sad and disappointed that the journey was over…thrilled that I was able to travel down it to be sure…but sad and darn it…I now want to read MORE of Kristan Higgins….Of course, she has no clue what a downer I am….but for anyone that knows me, I hope that you at least realise what a true compliment that is coming for me….

Reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now The Perfect Match

Muses’ Favorite Books of 2013

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The six of us chose our favorite books reviewed by Random Book Muses this year. And we want to give away copies to YOU!

***Comment on this post (Facebook, blog or twitter) with the title you want to win, and the name of YOUR favorite book of 2013 and you’ll be entered into the giveaway.***

Contest ends December 20.

Melpomene: Left Drowning by Jessica Park
20131210-215516.jpg I fell in love with Jessica Park’s writing when I read Flat-Out Love. I knew I’d read whatever she wrote afterwards. But I wasn’t nearly prepared for the devastation I felt when reading Left Drowning. This story is about loss and love and learning to move on from both. The characters were so real, that I felt like I was sitting right with them, laughing when they laughed and crying when they cried. And when their hearts broke, mine did as well. I may never get over this book. This book totally killed me and I hope it kills you too.
You can read the full review here.

Thalia: My Name is Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
20131210-215528.jpg What a challenge, to pick just ONE favorite book from this past year. How in the world am I supposed to do that? Almost every book I’ve read has been a favorite in some way. Otherwise I wouldn’t have finished it. That being said…the book that has touched me the most and still resonates with me is “My Name is Malala.” When I first heard about this young lady and the tragedy that befell her, I was shocked like most other people were. But I couldn’t truly comprehend exactly what she went through up to the point when she was shot. Her book received a lot of publicity before it was released, and I was excited to read it. I don’t often buy books the day that they come out but this one was an exception. I have even more respect for Malala and her entire family after reading her story. What strength and courage it takes to stand up for what you believe in under the pressure of such danger. This family,and Malala in particular, is truly an inspiration!
You can read the full review here.

Pegasus: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach
20131211-230709.jpg As you can see from many of my reviews, comedy isn’t a genre that I read a lot of.  With that in mind, I was a bit skeptical when I first picked up the book.  How wrong was I?!   A story with elements of comedy, mixed up with drama, family dynamics, cultural clashes, and prejudices that are dispelled as freely as they are assumed, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a refreshing, hilarious, poignant, and stark look on our lives and how we choose to live them.
You can read the full review here.

Urania: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
20131210-215537.jpgWith 2013 coming to an end, as I look back at all of my reads of the year, I realize just how lucky I am! There were so many great books! It’s almost impossible to pick my very favorite, so instead, I shall pick out the one that surprised me the most….This book is NOS4A2. This is a book that I went into not expecting very much. I put it off for months. I believed that Joe was published and popular because of his famous father. Wow! While it may be true that the apple does not fall very far from the tree…I suddenly know that sometimes, the old apple tree is surpassed by the fruit it has born…After reading this long novel that had a writing style that made it feel fast and quick, I look forward to reading many more by JH…and I think in the years to come he might be every bit as famous as his father….and not because of his father…but because he absolutely deserves it!
You can read the full review here.

Clio: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
20131211-230656.jpg Picking my favorite book out of the ones I’ve reviewed for the blog was difficult. So I chose the one that surprised me the most. The Coldest Girl in Cold Town surprised me in so many ways – and all of them are good! This was a 5 star book from start to finish. The world is dark, creepy and complex. The complexity is woven into the hopelessness, the technology, and even into the romance that this amazingly well written novel contains. Loved every bit of it!
You can read the full review here.

Calliope: A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams
20131211-230722.jpg I love all the reading I’ve done this year, but I loved reading A Hundred Summers best. Beatriz Williams wrote my favroite genre – romance – into literary fiction with such substance and chutzpah, I was astonished at every turn. My shoulders are tensing just thinking about it. And even though I have hundreds of unread books waiting for me, A Hundred Summers compels me to re-read it. I know I’ll hear myself gasp, laugh, and blush all over again on the beach with Nick, Budgie, Graham and Lily. 
You can read the full review here.

Reviews: Necroscope (Necroscope, #1) & Necroscope II: Vamphyri! (Necroscope, #2) by Brian Lumley

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Okay….so I’m gonna do something a little different…I read the first of this series last year at this time….I recently picked up the second in the series to read and loved it so much that I wanted to review it for everyone….but I wanted to go back and also include my review from book one…so today is your lucky day (or not)…two reviews for the price of one!!! Hope you enjoy….

BL1

Necroscope (book #1) read in November 2012:

How to rate this book. I loved parts of it, but also found myself waiting for the *real* action to begin. Knowing that there are over 30 books to follow this one, I guess I will have to be satisfied knowing this was only the beginning and as such, maybe, it was designed to set up the story line and ensure I lusted for more….
I read Dracula last month. I won’t bore you with explaining why I was utterly bored with it, actually finding myself yawning at parts. I only bring it up to say that when I read that book, I was looking for the type of feel this book gave me. A sense of evil that is timeless. Evil that has existed though out all the generations and still exists today. This book excited me in the way that I had hoped Dracula would. I could hear the ancient rasping voice of pure evil when the old Vampir spoke from his earthly tomb. I could actually feel the air grow chill. *This* is what I was seeking from the Count….Stoker did not deliver that feeling (for ME), but Lumley certainly did.

Here you have Boris Dragosani and his ability to tear apart the dead and learn their secrets…and then you throw in little Harry Keogh, who speaks for the dead, who the dead admire and, in fact, seek him out and what is there not to love! This same ability, two vastly different types of humans who can both speak to the dead, but displayed at two total different angles fascinated me.

It was also very interesting to have the KGB and other world intelligence agencies use all of these physic powers against one another. James Bond has entered an entirely new realm here. It’s all so very believable. So how much does physic ability play in attaining intelligence from other counties? We all have heard of mediums being used behind closed doors to help track down killers, but what if these mediums were used AS THE killers? How true is the “evil eye”? What if one talked to the dead, not to reassure the living, but to learn of the dead’s secrets…secrets that up until that point had been taken with them to the grave?

Parts of this book I felt were rich in detail and left me wanting even more…yet other parts I felt needed more detail and they, too, left me wanting more…..

I won’t be going into any ancient forests in Romania anytime soon….that is one thing I know for sure…..

BL2Necroscope II: Vamphyri! (book #2) read November 2013:

As I read this, I wondered why I had waited so long to continue on with this series. I really liked the first book. I remembered just how much as I read this one. The second book picks up right where book one ended. As I read this one, I was already wondering how I would rate it. Very different from the first book. Lots of the history of the past Wamphyris. There are parts of this book that felt very gothic. Other parts felt very spy vs. spy with all of the espionage…I really wasn’t sure how I would rate it….I loved the history and the espionage both….I loved the combining of world powers to fight for a common goal….I loved the feeling of being suspect of everyone…was he a good guy…or would he turn traitor….this whole concept of fighting world powers not with physical force, BUT with mental force is terrifying to me! Don’t we all have that 6th sense that kicks in from time to time….haven’t we all heard of the evil eye? Every feel like something bad is about to happen? Déjà vie? What if there ARE people out there that have powers such as these that we can’t even begin to imagine? What if world powers not only hide these people, but they also use them for the *better* of their cause? What happens if you put a mind reader in with one of the most powerful men in he world? What would he learn? What if someone can talk to anyone from the dead? Think of all the great minds of the past! Now…Think of all the evil minds of the past…go back in time…Genghis Khan…Hitler …now imagine being able to converse with them! Do you see where this can go? Think of the secrets that the dead take to their graves….now imagine that you can bring those secrets forth….how mind blowing is that!

So I was on the fence on how to rate this….4 stars for sure….but was it really worthy of 5? Lumley is a true writer of horror….I mean, there’s no way you can read the descriptions of his vampires and not be a little freaked out….he paints a very vivid mind’s image….you can almost hear the sounds of limbs being tore apart….he also, in a gothic sick twisted way throws in things meant to be erotic and sick and twisted and exciting all at once….you long to turn away, but can’t bear to miss a moment….

Then I hit the last 10% of this book…..all I can say is oh holy hell….I gasped out loud! I actually stood up and paced…I was hopping up and down on one leg to the other….I read it with my mouth hanging open…I had goosebumps running up and down my skin….and that wasn’t enough…I then started to shake…physically shake from the stuff going through my mind….he did this NOT ONCE BUT THREE TIMES IN THE LAST PART OF THE BOOK!! Three huge shocks to my system….never, ever, can I ever hope or dream to experience something like that from a book ever again…he flipping blew my mind!!! Lumley, is a fucking master….there is a reason this series has a cult following….brilliant….just brilliant…..ah.maze.ing…..

No, this isn’t a book for everyone….Lumley is not for everyone….but this series has now answered the question….if I could only read one series for the rest of my life….well, it’s gonna be this one….with dozens of books, I am excited to be breathless again…lost in horrific wonder….bring it….I am wanting to start book 3!!!!!

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy Them Now Necroscope, Necroscope II: Vamphyri!

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: 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

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