Urania

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

Review: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

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nosHow does one write a 700 plus page novel and make it non-stop stay on the edge of you seat the entire way? Damned if I know, but go ask Joe Hill, because he sure the f**k knows how!!!!!! Wow! What a ride! Remember the episode of “Friends” where Joey keeps the book in the freezer? I SERIOUSLY wanted to shove my poor kindle in the deepest parts of my freezer at night whilst I was reading this one!

This was my very first Joe Hill book but believe you me, it won’t be my last! Two confessions…one, I always wondered what it would be like growing up as Stephen King as my dad. I mean, what goes through the man’s mind as he sits down to pancakes on a Sunday morning. Does he see THAT pile of pancakes as others would view it? How does his sense of reality compare with others? What stories does he tell his kids? Well, Joe Hill was one of those children that actually sat at that table on Sunday mornings with SK as his pops…When SK had a random thought, JH was around to hear what it was…My second confession is, (okay, I KNOW this isn’t fair, Mr Hill) that I was hesitant to read this because Joe Hill IS King’s son….well, let me tell you….there are some things in the book that made me think of SK, but seriously, this is not some guy making a living based on having a famous father….if anything, Joe Hill deserves so much more fame then he currently has. I don’t scare easy. I don’t sit there and rapidly turn pages as fast as I can for 700 plus pages! I can’t EVER remember wanting to put a book in the freezer before! Joe Hill , much like his father, has that uncanny ability to take the everyday simple things that everyone has experienced as a kid and turn it into the stuff of nightmares…bikes, childhood games, and even Christmas!!!! What the hell!?!?!?!

Don’t read this book if you get emotionally attached to great characters and want them to live forever. Don’t read this book if you are afraid to “think outside the box”. Don’t read this book if you think every Christmas should be perfect. Don’t read this book if you live alone and don’t have a safe, sturdy freezer to store your current read in. Don’t read this book if you are afraid of jumping at a mysterious bump in the night. Don’t read this book if you think it’s okay to listen to Christmas music all year long….

Do read this book if you want to have the simple things we all did as a child revisited and made real. Oh come on…you need an example? Okay, remember how you used to ride your bike, only it wasn’t *really* a bike? It was some magical travel machine that could take you any imaginary place you wished to go! Sure that was only your imagination…

Or was it….

Hmmmmmmm….

Do read this book if you enjoy an author that cares enough about his readers to make you love all the characters in his novel…even those that aren’t gonna make it to the end….Do read this book if you want your heart pumping at fast speeds….Do read this book if you think Christmas should be kept year round in your heart (insert cheesy awwww)….Do read this book if you are looking for a new favourite author that you will forever adore!

Holy Hell, again, what a great f**king ride!!!!!!!!

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now NOS4A2

Review: Reality Boy by A.S. King

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RBI don’t read as much YA as I used to. However, sometimes you just have to feed a need! This book did not disappoint. I have never been a big fan of reality TV. This book pointed out many reasons why reality television isn’t necessarily a positive influence in the world. Especially when it comes to the stars of the show. It seems that instead of learning from the pain and heartache of what some of these shows have created, the public just wants more. Like a train wreak we are unable to tear our eyes away from.

This story is about Gerald Faust. He is an almost 17-year-old that is still known to the world as the young child that starred in a reality television series. Even though more than 10 years have gone by…even though much of the show took place when he was only 5 years old, he is still known, and judged by the events that the show chose to show the world. Just imagine how anyone can take a few minutes out of your week and sculpt them into what they want the world to see. Imagine that everyone judges you by those few minutes alone. You have no chance to show them the events that led up to those events. You have no chance to tell your side. No one is allowed to see how others treated you prior to those events. No one is allowed to see what happens after the events. Now imagine this is how you will be judged not only in that week, but in the rest of your life. Isn’t being a teenager hard enough?

I can’t really say that this book has a happy ending. I can’t say that you’ll fall in love with any of the characters. I can say that parts of it will make you sad. Parts of it will scare you. Parts of it will also make you angry. You’ll be reminded that we should not judge those that we do not know. You’ll be reminded that you’re not alone no matter how much you might feel that way….

Should you read this book? Yes! Turn off that damned telly and pull out this book. It was a quick read. It will have you wanting to hurry to the end to see how Gerald fairs in life. You will want his reality to be a happy ending! I won’t lie to you….this is based on reality tv…and just as reality is never “wrapped up in a pretty bow” at the end, this book won’t be either. Nothing is really ever perfect, is it? Some people never get the help that need. Some people never choose to face the hard facts…about those they love or about themselves….but sometimes, life does get better! Sometimes you do find positive people to surround yourself with. Life CAN get better…perhaps not perfect, but at least you can make changes that improve it….at least in this respect, this book is very much like “reality”

Enjoy! Until next time….

Urania xx

Reading copy obtained from Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now Reality Boy

Review: The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son by Pat Conroy

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death of santiniOkay, so I haven’t read all of Pat Conroy’s books. After I read “The Prince of Tides”, I just wasn’t sure how much more I could read by him. Don’t misunderstand me. I LOVE his writing. Perhaps too much. It just seemed too real. For me, I could see it all just plain as day. I believe that it could be happening in any small southern town. Some reviews I looked at said that it was all just too over blown….that people didn’t really live like that. That abuse like that couldn’t be hidden. That the Southern towns he spoke of weren’t *really* like that. Having grown up in the South I disagreed. Having worked with children in State custody, again, I disagreed….but that’s as far as my mind went with it….I didn’t really read much about Conroy’s background. I didn’t care to dig deeper…maybe, somehow, knowing beforehand what I might find….

So, as I ramble on, are you wondering why? Well, if you know and follow Pat Conroy you know he has written a few non-fiction books about his life….well, “The Death of Santini” is another non-fiction novel. It is the story of Pat and his father. More so, it is the story of forgiveness and acceptance between a father and his son. So, I can’t talk about how much confessing Pat does in his other non-fiction books, as I haven’t read them, but I can tell you, he does a lot in this one. He basically explains that every book he has written is really just an out pouring of his life. Every non fiction book is based on his experiences. The names might have been changed. The stories might have grown. However, the rawness, the aching beauty of his writing comes from his own experiences, and yes, the violence is his own as well….

Here we learn that, yes, the horrible father in all the stories, were in fact, stories about Pat’s own father. The *true* “great Santini”, Don Conroy. We learn that every brutal word we read were inspired by the brutality of this one man. We also see the aftermath of what such brutality does to a family. How it tears it apart, not as a whole unit, but by person by person. How it destroys relationships. How it destroys people. However, we also see what it means to be human. How the human spirit sometimes refuses to just take what is handed to it. We see that the same brutalities that sometimes tears people apart, are also the very things that makes someone who they are. That often, we have our own ways of dealing with such things. We might pen it on paper and became a famous author. We might pour it into poetry and became a poet….or perhaps we pour it into our behaviors towards others….we become the father that we never had….or the caretaker that offers nothing except love and support…we might spend decades in a situation and then one day, seemingly out of the blue, we wake up and say no more and make a different life for ourselves….sadly, it might also mean, we can’t take another single day with what we have endured and we find a way to end it right then and there…and we also learn that even when we move ahead, well, that we always carry some part of that past with us. We can often try to control our behavior…we can try to move on….but sometimes that is much easier said than done. It is obvious that Pat Conroy still carries his past with him. I think he always will. One sees that he puts a bit of himself in many of his characters….he might be the strong brother at times, but the broken siblings are also part of who he is…

Most importantly, we see a man, who might not speak aloud of the wrongs he has done, but he turns his life into something that tries to set those wrongs right. This book has made me realize a lesson I’ve always known….but it has put it into full light for me….We should never judge and condone someone unless we walk in their shoes. Wrongs are never right…..but that doesn’t mean we need to be so quick to condemn the person….maybe just the actions…and only as they are occurring….perhaps it’s best to let the past rest in the past and not in the present. Sometimes a second chance is not enough…sometimes it might take more….

I am also reminded (something I’ve experienced first hand) that often, if we hold on to the wrongs of the past that it is not punishing only the person that wronged you (if it even does) but that is punishing yourself the most. Holding on to the bitterness of the past only gives that bitterness a resting place inside of YOU! But how does one let go? I hope one day that Pat Conroy is able to lay to rest the demons that still live inside him…as he has now laid to rest the father that he loved so dearly….

Until next time….

Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now The Death of Santini

Sneak Peek Review: Parasite by Mira Grant

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Parasite** The release date for this book is October 29th **

I am not often surprised by a series.  However, the Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant did just that.  I’ve read some zombie books and these books just didn’t *read* like a zombie series.  When I saw that this new book was coming out by Grant I was terribly excited!  I was sad to see the end of the Newsflesh series and wondered what Grant would do next.  Then I found the book on Netgallery as a “read now”  and I got SUPER excited!  I just couldn’t wait and I read it as soon as it downloaded onto Kote Kindle.  I really enjoyed this book. It’s a good follow-up to the Newsflesh Trilogy and it did not disappoint me much.   There’s no doubt when you get to the ending that there will be more to follow. I am somewhat disappointed that I knew what the ending was going to be. It wasn’t that hard for me to figure out the “big shock” at the end.  However, I am not really sure that Grant intended for it to be a surprise. I think the main character was just faced with having to accept facts that she already knew…she was just unwilling to believe…After all, if it was staring me in the face for most of the book, I reckon it was staring her in the face as well….just saying….I would also like to say that many of the characters of the book the reminded me of some of the characters from  the Newsflesh Trilogy.  I think that if I had not read that series, I would have perhaps enjoyed this book a bit more.  The storyline was somewhat new and exciting, but the players, for me, were not….Only the names seemed different….not the personalities….

This book reminded me a lot of Stephenie Meyer’s book “The Host”. Having said that, I will say that I can actually see Grant’s story happening one day in the future. Meyer’s book takes a much larger stretch of the imagination. I believe that science could find a way to introduce organisms into our host bodies to help combat illnesses as in this book….I am not so sure they will be extraterrestrials as in Meyer’s book….I will be looking forward to reading the next book and I hope that I don’t have to wait too long!

ARC provided by NetGallery for an honest review…

Until next time….

– Urania xx

Buy it now  Parasite

Review: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

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maladiesFirst I need to tell you guys something….are you ready for my confession? Okay, here goes….I am not a fan of short stories. After Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature this past week, I figured it was time that I downloaded one of her books to try it. See, I am not so set in my ways that I can’t try something I know I probably won’t like….so that brings me to this book….I had some stuff going on this past weekend, so in a haste to pick out a book, I picked out a short book that I’ve had on my kindle for a while….I had been wanting to try Lahiri for a while as well….Since she is up for the Man Booker Prize, I thought this would be a good time to try her…..

How does all this fit in together? Well, I am the type that rarely reads book descriptions….Soooooo….imagine my surprise of finding out that this book was a collection of short stories! What!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate short stories! Sure, I was willing to try Munro…but NOT now….I was gonna put it off for months….I….don’t…..like….shorts!!!!!!

Seriously, I couldn’t be bothered to try to pick out another book from the hundreds I have on my kindle…it was after 10 pm. I was tried, darn it…..So, I went ahead and started to read….imagine my surprise…..I was hooked from page one….not just from the first story…but from every single one! I have to say, I take back every bad thing I have ever mumbled about short stories….these were brilliant.

I am telling you now….don’t be an arse like me….Don’t tell yourself that you never read “____?____”. Ask yourself….what do you read? Do you usually read thriller books? Romance? Mysteries? Non-fiction? Okay….for the sake of argument, let’s say you read only romance.

So, tell me….the last romance you read….was it brilliant? Did it suck? Was it just okay? Boring? Exciting? Okay, the one before that? And yes, before that?

Do you see my point? Oh, come on now…don’t make me write it out! Okay….you win….here goes….

Not every book you read it guaranteed to be brilliant. Not even if it’s from a genre you absolutely love. Same goes for your favorite author. One day, they might disappoint you….You might have loved every book they have ever penned, but maybe one day you won’t.

This book has taught me a great lesson….I will try very hard to stop judging books by their genre. I mean, I don’t like non fiction, but there are a couple of non fiction books that are some of the best books I’ve ever read. I don’t like fantasy, but a few of my all time favorites are just that! The same with romance….Do you see my point here?

So I can tell you right now…with great confidence….a great story is a great story! No matter the genre it is told in. In these short 200 pages, Jhumpa Lahiri gives us 9 great stories. It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite. Do the few short pages they take up encompass a massive story? Do they have a beginning, a middle and an ending? Maybe not….but what they do have is some uncanny ability to draw you into the characters lives and make you feel for them. You feel their loneliness. You feel their pain. You feel their emotions. You relate to them. You spend a short moment of time with them and you feel as if their lives matter to you. You care about them. Finally, long after their pages end, you still think of them and you wonder how they are…so I am telling you right now…if you say a short story can’t encompass a massive story…well it’s like saying one short life doesn’t matter when you look at someone who has led a long life. That’s just bullshit. These stories matter. Short or not, they really matter…

I simply can not wait to try another one of Lahiri’s books. I won’t even mind if it’s *only* a collection of short stories….and seriously….I no longer hate short stories anyway….so who cares if they are a collection of shorts…hell, I almost hope they are!

Until next time….

– Urania xx

Buy it now Interpreter of Maladies

Review: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

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RoadThis book was an audible deal of the day recently, so I’ve heard it mentioned quite a bit in the last few days, so I decided to revisit it and post my review….I just read it for the first time a month or so ago…and it really left me feeling a bit hopeless…

Okay, let us all travel down “The Road” for just a moment…it’s a dark and dreary road to be sure, but it is a road that I did, in fact, travel down with Mr McCarthy…This might be a book I need to come back and revisit and perhaps re-rate as well (I don’t usually post my star ratings, but this one received a 3). The writing style was hard to catch on to at first. I hated the dialogue formatting. It was something that I could follow, but at the same time, in my mind I always took a moment to be annoyed with it!! Very distracting. Depressing books don’t bother me. I actually enjoy them most of the time…I know….depressing, eh? Bwhahahahahahahahaha. But seriously, where was the hope in this one? Where was the light at the end suppose to shine? I seriously hate Hollywood endings, but as depressing as Water World & Mad Max were, at least in the end you were able to see a glimpse of what the world might become….here? I saw not even a flicker of light….I saw nothing as to what the world might become….I suppose as much as this book left me with unanswered questions (let me just point out, I freaking love books without a pretty bow wrapped ending, my favorite books are those that give the reader just enough for the reader to imagine the ending….or in many cases, the start of the rest of the story that will go on and on) the main question I am left with is this….which McCarthy book shall I read next? I need to know if all of his books are written such as this…….SEE!!!!!!!!! I told you I was into depression…..bwhahahahahahahahaha….Seriously, I have heard some great things about Cormac McCarthy….there are a few books of his that I REALLY want to read…and I want to read them soon….”Blood Meridian” and “No Country for Old Men” are two books that I think about often and really want to make the time to read…..Has anyone reading this read either of them? Have you read “The Road”? How do they compare? Who dares to help me out here?

Be sure to watch for my upcoming review of “The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling

~ Urania xx

Buy It Now The Road

Review: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

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16130549The day this book came out I heard a BBC Radio review of it. The reviewer ended her review stating that they believed that this book would hurt Stephen King’s reputation….well talk about a ruined day! I am always scared to read a new book from an author I love. What if it’s a complete dud and I hate it? It’s harder to remember a great passionate love for a book when you read a few that are total rubbish from the same author. Should it matter? No. Maybe not. But it does. Think about it…how many times have you said, “well, I used to love xxxxxx but I hate their later works, so I don’t even bother any more….Do you ever spend sleepless nights pondering all the great reads you might have missed just because of one bad book? Aw, co’mon….I’m the ONLY one??????? Psssffftttttttt……

So, anyway, I was hesitant now to start a book that I had *really* been looking forward to….all because I happened to hear a random stranger on the radio piss and moan about how boring this book was at parts….SERIOUSLY?????? I’ve been a Stephen King fan for over 25 years!!!! Yet, this random stranger made me doubt that love! This is why I avoid reviews (well, except for Muse Reviews….we offer only the BEST and most honest reviews EVER…no! REALLY we do!!!!)

Well, let me tell you, Doctor Sleep grabbed me from the very first paragraph and I tell you now….it had me by my throat and it did not let go until the very last….and I tell you now….I am still a bit breathless from the whole experience…..

However, that crazy woman from BBC Radio stayed close to my mind. As I read this book, I had to stop and think about Stephen King as well. Sure, there are one or two authors I follow because I have learned that I love just about everything they write….blog posts, reviews, epic novels, whatever…..but it’s not often that I am wondering what the hell is going on in their mind as they are writing the book I am reading…..I don’t mean, wondering how they ever came up with the story, or the wonderful characters….I was wondering what actual thoughts of failure or success SK was pondering. How was he able to put his own thoughts of what this book would mean to his readers and his career to the side and actually write this novel. What sort of discipline that must have taken!

With all the hoopla over this book, I know that SK has been a bit anxious about how it would be received. Any one of the dozens of interviews with him leading up to this novel will tell you he’s been nervous. Especially since “The Shining” is so well known……Why wouldn’t he be? Think about it……take a moment out of your busy day….go on then…..close your eyes……turn off that telly…..and think of one single word…just one…

~ REDRUM ~

What do you see? What do you feel? What do you know?

Stephen King did that! With a single word! How f**king brilliant is that? Seriously…..How many people in this life time get one word that instantly brings such a strong memory to you? ONE. SINGLE. WORD!!!!

So how do you top that? How many of King’s works have been pure and magical brilliance? How many have been…errrrr….rubbish? How does he handle that? Is he able to shut that off? At the end of this novel he puts the date of May 1, 2011 – July 17, 2012 as the dates this one was written….of course there is probably no way to measure just how many minutes, hours, days, even years that little Danny Torrance played in and out of King’s mind.

If you think “The Shining” scared you, well how do you reckon it has scared SK all these years? Who haunts him the most? Jack with his alcoholism that AA was not readily available to help him though. Especially knowing SK’s own battle with the disease…..Was it little Danny, aka “Doc”, whom was a victim by no fault of his own. Or is the complete success of “The Shining” itself that haunts him the most?

The fact that this book was so wonderful, well it’s just amazing. It wasn’t overdone. It wasn’t a rehash of the first book. Most importantly, it was so NOT a disappointment. It’s been a few days since I finished it and I am still thinking about it! I am still savoring bits and pieces in my mind. I wish I was STILL reading it!!!

SK did little Doc proud in this novel. He also makes amends to any wrong he might have inadvertently caused Jack Torrance in “The Shining”. Most importantly, for me, SK also manages to do what I love the very most from any author….he ends it in such a way that the reader can walk away with a smile on their face…or the story can be revisited years later….he leaves you, the reader, completely happy with a closure yet leaves a huge, elaborately carved thick wooden door there….it’s closed at the moment….there’s no way we can see beyond it….we don’t have the key to enter….and really…. it’s lovely to just look at….but….if by some chance…..SK decides to open it at a future date, we, the readers, will be thrilled to once again let him hold our hand and guide us through that magic that is contained within his mind that he sometimes shares with us…..just please….Someone! Anyone! Don’t forget the bloody torch! It can get scary sometimes where he leads us….and no way am I riding in a RV to get there either….just saying….

~Urania

Buy it now Doctor Sleep

Review: Never Go Back by Lee Child

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17262159 Have you meet Reacher? I’ve known him for years now. On release day I always wanna set out an extra cup of black coffee just for him. As an avid reader with hundreds, no, thousands of books on my TBR pile, I admit, there are only two authors that I read the day that they publish. One is John Sandford. The other is Lee Child. As I read this book, I realized why. I am never disappointed in these books. “Never Go Back” was one of my favorites from the series. Of course I pretty much say that with every one of the series but this time I think I really mean it! There is a reason why the Reacher books are so popular. I’ve been trying to figure out why for years. I still haven’t placed my finger one exactly what it is, but I have no doubt that they are deserving of all the acclaim and success the series has.

I started this series long before Lee Child was a household name. There once was a time years ago when the only books I picked up were mystery/thriller type books. Now it’s a type of book I rarely read. When I did read mysteries/thrillers I spent maybe 10 years or more reading next to nothing else. It was during one of my many searches for a new book that I ran across the first of this series. I was hooked and read all that were out back to back. Of course, this was a when there were only 3 or so published. I’ve set my internal alarm for years now for my next Reacher fix. I always have it preordered months and months in advance.

So as someone that has read the series for years and years, why does this one stick out for me? Well, for one, I’ve been waiting for this story for a few years! “61 Hours” was published in 2010!!!!!!!!!!! This is the follow up to that cliffhanger. Finally, we find out more about the voice that intrigued Reacher enough to travel thousands of miles….

So was it worth it? Was Reacher’s travels worth it? Was my wait worth it? I think so. This was a classic Reacher novel. It was truly everything that makes the series great. You had Reacher silent and thinking. You had his instant 3 second fight that Child painstakingly takes the time of 3 pages to write out….if you have read the books, you know exactly the ones that I mean…..The inside workings of Reacher’s mind as he’s about to kick some serious arse! You’re trying to read every single word on the page, but at the same time you are rushing to speed read to get to the part where the serious arse whipping occurs! You also had the army….and Reacher playing MP/Investigator. The diners were there, as well as the random encounter with a group of idiot bullies. As always there is the travel toothbrush and a changing of clothes…..and you also had the bad guys and the damsel in distress that always seems present whenever Reacher is around.

However, you also had a very softer side of Reacher that has only been hinted at before in other books in the series. Of course, it’s not fully exposed in this novel….but Reacher does start to ask himself questions that he has never allowed for in the past.

I shall leave you, the reader, to find out what those questions are for yourselves. As well as the answers that Reacher gives…..

I always am sad to see a Reacher book end….I know I shall have a bit of a wait for the next….but this time, I REALLY didn’t want it to end….Reacher….I’m still waiting…..I have the kettle on for you….isn’t it about time we share a cup in person???????? No need for me to tell you my location….I know you can figure it out…..

~Urania

Buy it now Never Go Back

Ramblings From the Odd Muse Out……

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622516_10151562979950064_1131408446_oSometimes I despair over being a muse. Don’t get me wrong. I love it. This blog is so much fun. The fellow muses are amazing. It’s not often you can get 5 women to all agree on something, but the blog is also so much fun!

However, I have to confess…..sometimes I feel like the odd muse out. Trust me when I say all of the other muses are girly girls….meant in the best possible sense of the word….They are cute and cuddly and they all seem to love HEA books. They get all giggly over all the latest romance books and I am left wondering what is wrong with me? I mean, really, can’t I be part of the giggling muse in-crowd too? Seriously, I can giggle….listen……

Bwhahahahahahahahahaahah…..

Okay, maybe not…..see what I mean? Didn’t that sound a bit like some evil laugh right there? Seriously, there was nothing cute and bubbly about it, was there?
Now I know, my fellow muses are so wonderful that they will read this blog post and come running and offer me chocolates and some story of a studly man hunk that they are sure will cheer me up…..they will tell me how this book or that book is just like my very own HEA story….

So, now that I’m over my self-pity party, I realize that this is what this blog and my friendship with my fellow muses are all about….fun and good times with people you care about…but since this is a literary blog, let’s take it a step further….

Where else can you find total acceptance with a group of strangers other than in the literary world?

I said a moment ago that I love this blog and how much fun it is….but it’s not because we are all doing something we love. It’s also because of the followers. It’s also because of the fellow muses. But there is more…..It is because all of us, muses and followers share a common interest. Love of reading….not a common genre of books…..but the love of books themselves….

You see, I’ve been an odd muse out pretty much my entire life….and for that lifetime, I’ve also been fortunate enough to have a strong passion for reading….no matter how or where I was going, or how far I was going to have to walk, I never felt lumbered enough where I didn’t carry some sort of book with me….school, over night stay at grandma’s house, family vacation….wherever, I always toted along that book….just in case….

Now that I have found other literary friends, I have truly felt accepted for perhaps the first time ever….

Let me try to explain…..sure there are school ties that bind us….if you went to a certain school you found connected to the other students….but perhaps not to the students of the closet rival school….so your binds ended right there….
you can feel a bigger bind with people in your hometown….perhaps your state, your favorite sports team…..hell, even your Country….you can even form a bond just because you share the same gender with someone…..

But think about it…..with literary friends, you don’t have to all read the same things. I know fellow literary friends (I won’t name names Muses!!!!) that read nothing but fluff, and I still consider them some of my favorite people in the world! To take it a step further, they don’t seem to mind that I read some really oddball stuff….
But think about it….open up your mind….My love of the written word has brought me great friendships from every walk of life…..Different genders, different generations, different cultures, different genres and different reading preferences.

As I’ve been sitting her pondering it….I wonder what else could do so?

George RR Martin wrote:

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one”

I would just like to point out that it’s not just the words on the page that enables us to do this….it also the combined love of these words that we share with one another…..if you want to get people talking, really talking to one another, give them something they are passionate about and open the door….
How many times have you seen a stranger with a book and started a conversation based on it? I know I have! What a thrill to feel that instant bond with a stranger! Haven’t tried it? Take the chance and do so! You might be really surprised how easily a conversation starts over a book….it doesn’t even need to be a book you’ve read or would even consider reading!

The best part of about being a person that reads is that reading encompasses so very many different areas….and because it does, so many readers are open to new ideas….when you read a lot it’s so hard to simply see the world in black and white anymore….I, for one, see it in various shades of vibrant colors….
I know that without reading, so many doors I have walked freely though would not have been open to me…So many of the people I love most in this world would be unknown to me…..

So yes, perhaps for now on, after this long rambling post, I will be known as “Urania – the rambling muse”

But I also know that even though I sometimes feel like the odd muse out, that in fact, I belong to a very large and loving literary family that loves me despite my excellent reading tastes……
Bwhahahahahahaahahahahahaha (see! Did THAT sound more like a giggle there?)

Much Love and Happy Reading,
Urania

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