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Review Date: 9/10/2014
This was a beautiful book. I literally read it in one sitting. I bought it a long time ago, but I finally decided to read it today. So, I pulled it out of my bookshelf this afternoon and started reading, and I just couldn't stop. The narrator's voice is a bit like Holden Caulfield, only more innocent, kind, caring, and naïve, and there is a raw, open quality to the story-telling that reminds me of "Go Ask Alice", only the story is lighter and less downward-spirally. Charlie's transformation from the shy loner into the sweet and accepted wallflower is simply a gorgeous journey that I loved experiencing with him.
Furthermore, the complex relationships between the characters in the novel are fascinating. I love the interpersonal dynamics between Charlie and Sam, Sam and Patrick, Patrick and Brad, Patrick and Charlie, Charlie and Mary Elizabeth, Mary Elizabeth and Sam.... Not to mention the familial relationships between Charlie and each member of his family, even the ones that don't play huge parts in the novel, such as his grandfather.
Finally, the shocking revelation behind Charlie's relationship with his Aunt Helen... well, that adds a whole different level to the story that takes it above and beyond a simple coming-of-age story.
It is definitely a story worth adding to my 'favorites' shelf.
Furthermore, the complex relationships between the characters in the novel are fascinating. I love the interpersonal dynamics between Charlie and Sam, Sam and Patrick, Patrick and Brad, Patrick and Charlie, Charlie and Mary Elizabeth, Mary Elizabeth and Sam.... Not to mention the familial relationships between Charlie and each member of his family, even the ones that don't play huge parts in the novel, such as his grandfather.
Finally, the shocking revelation behind Charlie's relationship with his Aunt Helen... well, that adds a whole different level to the story that takes it above and beyond a simple coming-of-age story.
It is definitely a story worth adding to my 'favorites' shelf.
Review Date: 9/10/2014
I really liked this book quite a bit FOR THE MOST PART. It was incredibly well-written, and it was quite unique. It was paranormal, but not cheesy, pg-13 YA paranormal. This combined Russian history and demons and seraphs and Rasputin and love and demented siblings and Bohemian artist types and etc. etc. etc. It was a lot of fun. However, the ending was a bit less than satisfying. I'm not sure if there is going to be a second book... by the way it ended, I'm assuming there will be, but I wasn't EXPECTING a second book, and as such, the ending really disappointed me. It didn't tie up the main freaking plot point or several of the smaller ones. That just bugs me to no end. However, it still was a really good book. Or at least, it WILL BE, as long as there is a second book to help me finish up the story the author started in this one. :-D
Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
2
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
2
Review Date: 9/6/2014
Helpful Score: 1
This book was simply amazing. I had so much fun reading it. I have a little boy, myself, and the only time I ever, EVER wish I had a little girl instead is when he starts asking me questions about his boy parts. Now, however, I have a second reason to wish I had a little girl. I would LOVE to read her these stories of kick-ass, real-life princesses as bedtime stories.
The author, McRobbie, starts the book off with a short introduction talking about how the Disney Princess craze has swept the nation... Hell, the WHOLE WORLD! Well, these stories are not Disney Princess stories. These stories are about warrior women, mad women, brilliant women, and maybe a few women with pretty loose morals, but these women LIVED LIFE TO THE LEES, and they are definitely women I would want my little girl (if I had one) to know about. Several of them I'd even want her to look up to as role models.
I think McRobbie, herself, sums up the book best in the introduction when she says: "Historical princess have been capable of great things as well as horrible things; they've made stupid decisions and bad mistakes, loved the wrong people or too many people or not enough people. They are women who lied, murdered, used sex as a weapon, or dressed like a man to hold on to power. They weren't afraid to get a little dirt, or blood, on their hands. These women were human, but the word princess, along with its myriad connotations, often glosses over that humanity."
I think this book is the perfect antidote to the pink pastel princess world that is splashed all over everything today. I absolutely loved it.
The author, McRobbie, starts the book off with a short introduction talking about how the Disney Princess craze has swept the nation... Hell, the WHOLE WORLD! Well, these stories are not Disney Princess stories. These stories are about warrior women, mad women, brilliant women, and maybe a few women with pretty loose morals, but these women LIVED LIFE TO THE LEES, and they are definitely women I would want my little girl (if I had one) to know about. Several of them I'd even want her to look up to as role models.
I think McRobbie, herself, sums up the book best in the introduction when she says: "Historical princess have been capable of great things as well as horrible things; they've made stupid decisions and bad mistakes, loved the wrong people or too many people or not enough people. They are women who lied, murdered, used sex as a weapon, or dressed like a man to hold on to power. They weren't afraid to get a little dirt, or blood, on their hands. These women were human, but the word princess, along with its myriad connotations, often glosses over that humanity."
I think this book is the perfect antidote to the pink pastel princess world that is splashed all over everything today. I absolutely loved it.
Review Date: 9/6/2014
*may contain spoilers*
I really enjoyed this book, even though it broke my heart. It paints a gruesome, mind-blowing tale of a dark period in America's history -- the Salem witch trials. The author, Peni Jo Renner, says in her 'about the author' section that she is actually a direct descendant of the story's protagonist, Rebecca Eames, and that is truly something to think about. People flock to Salem every year by the hundreds to 'vacation' in these places where hundreds of men, women, and children were murdered in the name of God, and it's just 'SO COOL!' to visit Salem.
And I've been there, myself, and it was incredible. But I think that we often forget that the people who died there were just people. They weren't part of some super fun reenactment trial. They were real people who lived and died horrible deaths.
This book does a great job of bringing the human element back into the story of the Salem witch trials. Reading about the horrifying struggles that the Eames family had to suffer through simply because Rebecca spoke her mind to a man whose family had hated the Eames' family for years... it's just... Wow. What a perfect example of how much damage hatred and ignorance can cause.
However, it was also very uplifting at times. Seeing how the Eames family managed to keep their faith in God despite all the horrors they suffered... very inspiring. I know that the book itself is fiction, but as Ms. Renner says, it is a fictional book based off of real events and real people.
It's one of the better books I've received through the Goodreads giveaway program. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
I really enjoyed this book, even though it broke my heart. It paints a gruesome, mind-blowing tale of a dark period in America's history -- the Salem witch trials. The author, Peni Jo Renner, says in her 'about the author' section that she is actually a direct descendant of the story's protagonist, Rebecca Eames, and that is truly something to think about. People flock to Salem every year by the hundreds to 'vacation' in these places where hundreds of men, women, and children were murdered in the name of God, and it's just 'SO COOL!' to visit Salem.
And I've been there, myself, and it was incredible. But I think that we often forget that the people who died there were just people. They weren't part of some super fun reenactment trial. They were real people who lived and died horrible deaths.
This book does a great job of bringing the human element back into the story of the Salem witch trials. Reading about the horrifying struggles that the Eames family had to suffer through simply because Rebecca spoke her mind to a man whose family had hated the Eames' family for years... it's just... Wow. What a perfect example of how much damage hatred and ignorance can cause.
However, it was also very uplifting at times. Seeing how the Eames family managed to keep their faith in God despite all the horrors they suffered... very inspiring. I know that the book itself is fiction, but as Ms. Renner says, it is a fictional book based off of real events and real people.
It's one of the better books I've received through the Goodreads giveaway program. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Review Date: 9/6/2014
***May Contain Spoilers***
This book was great. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I love Detective Leander Justice. He is a damaged man with a lifetime of regret behind him, yet he continues to persevere. Also, he's a complete badass -- sometimes stupid in his decisions, but a badass nonetheless.
The storyline is good. Anyone who reads criminal thrillers has probably read the same storylines told over and over with different characters and different places, but this one has some great twists and turns. There was a LOT going on in this book, but it is tied together seamlessly.
I really, really would like to read more books by Jeff Damron, especially more in the Detective Justice line.
This book was great. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I love Detective Leander Justice. He is a damaged man with a lifetime of regret behind him, yet he continues to persevere. Also, he's a complete badass -- sometimes stupid in his decisions, but a badass nonetheless.
The storyline is good. Anyone who reads criminal thrillers has probably read the same storylines told over and over with different characters and different places, but this one has some great twists and turns. There was a LOT going on in this book, but it is tied together seamlessly.
I really, really would like to read more books by Jeff Damron, especially more in the Detective Justice line.
Review Date: 9/6/2014
There is some absolutely beautiful artwork in this book. Some of it is disturbing; some of it is completely non-understandable; all of it is amazing. I really enjoyed looking at this art. A LOVELY collection.
Review Date: 9/10/2014
** spoiler alert **
*Warning: contains spoilers, bad words, and quite a long rant*
To be honest, I was very disappointed in this book. It had a great premise, which meant it had the potential to be a really good story, but the writing style of the author just completely ruined this book for me.
The basic idea behind the story is that Kate Kane, a paranormal PI, sets off on a case to find the brother of a woman she slept with once, and during this investigation, she runs into ALL MANNER OF TROUBLE. There are vampires and werewolves and ex-girlfriends around every corner, just lurking and waiting to pounce on Miss Kane. It's a very busy and involved story, and if it had been better written, I would have easily given it four stars at least, but there was just TOO much about this book -- style-wise -- that drove me insane.
For instance:
1. The plot, itself, is actually fairly well thought out and developed and is nowhere NEAR as cheesy as it sounds when you hear, "Vampires fighting werewolves," -- which, let's be honest, these days is so trite and overdone that it is scoffed at on a regular basis. However, there IS a good story in this novel. But the way Hall writes the not-cheesy story is so cheesy that it makes you THINK the story is cheesy. A lot of cheese, huh? A little confusing? Well then, let me give you an example.
Page 7-8: "Truth be told it was a little bit awkward, but my social weirdness threshold has gone way up since my girlfriend tried to murder my ex-girlfriend because her ex-girlfriend tried to murder her."
Okay... a bit ridiculous, especially seven/eight pages in, but I can roll with it. However, at the bottom of page eight:
Kane asks, "Who saw him last?"
Her assistant -- who is actually a statue brought to life and gifted to Kate by a group of rats who are apparently all seeing and all knowing God-types -- says, "I don't know. [...] Probably somebody at the hospital."
Kane asks, "Which one?"
And the assistant replies with this fantastic line: "The Whittington. He broke his leg changing a light bulb. Because he was standing on a swivel chair because he's an idiot."
Okay, I concede that maybe this line is supposed to sound ridiculous and funny, so I can even let that one slide. But then, three pages later, Hall completely turns me off to the book with this:
"Well, fuck. I was about to be hired by a woman I'd very nearly slept with to find her missing brother who was working for the woman who'd left me for a tech startup at the tech startup she left me for."
Wh-wh-what?! Are you kidding me? Could that sentence BE anymore convoluted or that plot-point any more ridiculously stereotypical?
And what is truly awful is that the story itself REALLY WASN'T THAT BAD. I mean, the writing was awful, which, overall, meant that the novel was -- in my opinion, of course -- bad, but the way the story progressed WAS interesting. It was nowhere near as bad as these 'recaps' by the main character make it sound, but the problem is that Hall throws in these inner-monologues for Kane ALL throughout the book, and they are terrible! Which, in turn, decreases the value of the entire story.
Another example falls right on the heels of the page 11 jewel.
Page 14: "I really really hoped this wasn't going to be another zombie plague. There'd been an outbreak when I'd taken Eve up to Lake Windermere for our third anniversary, and we'd spent the whole weekend under siege in the hotel, making molotovs from the minibar and clubbing re-animated tourists to death with souvenir walking sticks."
Really? Zombies now? On top of the vampires, witches, and werewolves? Can we POSSIBLY fit anymore para into this normal?
Enough with that.
Now on to point number 2. The girl on girl sex scenes in this book between sexy, snarky PI and her vampire girlfriend, the Prince (yes, Prince) of Cups, should be hot, right? No. They are forced, fake, and ridiculous. Halfway through the first one, I thought, "Jesus. This isn't lesbian sex. This is lesbian sex if it was written by a man who WISHES he could see some lesbian sex." That was the point at which I decided to look up more info on Alexis Hall, and I found out that he is, in fact, a man, which at least explains the sex scenes.
#3. Speaking of sex scenes, Hall also has this really irritating -- and distracting -- habit of throwing in random, explicitly sexual thoughts at TOTALLY inappropriate times. Right in the middle of the most stressful situations -- being locked up, about to be killed, thrown in prison/on trial -- Kate Kane begins inner-monologuing with herself about how much she'd like to fuck whatever female happens to be standing in front of her. RIDICULOUS! And annoying. Hated it.
4. One of the MOST annoying things about this book, however, was that it was in DESPERATE need of a SERIOUS case of editing. All throughout the book there were glaring errors that any first year college student should have caught while reading. I'm willing to discount SOME of these "errors" as simply being lost in translation, as the book is written with a British tone, and I am very much American. However, SOME of these errors simply CANNOT be due to anything other than careless editing.
For instance, page 113: "It's main distinguishing feature, right, was that was it was blue."
WAS that WAS it WAS blue? What does that even mean? Oh, yes, it means that no one bothered editing this beast before printing.
Page 141: "Piercing the heart will paralyse, but it won't kill, and anything will do, it doesn't have to wood."
Okay, so maybe the "paralyse" is simply British, but surely the "doesn't have to wood" bit needs a "be" in there somewhere, right?
Page 157: "Have we have achieved case closed, Miss Kane?"
Yes, yes have we have.
There are several -- SEVERAL -- more examples of these type errors, but I'm not about to point them all out. If you read the book, I'm sure you'll easily catch them on your own.
5. Another thing that drove me NUTS was the repetition. The awful thing is I'm fairly certain that Hall used these repetitious lines PURPOSELY to create some kind of effect -- humor, maybe? Whatever the desired result, it failed to do anything other than annoy me.
For instance, page 163: "'Hi. So. Look.' I tried to find a way to express the fact I had some good news and some bad news that wasn't I've got some good news and some bad news. 'I've got some good news and some bad news.'"
...blink... ...falls over...
Page 177: "All the more reason to tell them. [...] If they know that we know that she has returned, then they will not be tempted to conspire against us out of the false belief that we do not know. Of course, they may already know, but at present, we have no way to know what they know. If we tell them, we will know what they know, and all we will not know is how long they have known it."
Oh. Jumping. Jesus. On. A. Pogo. Stick. Please tell me you aren't serious.
And there was this one thing that repeated over and over again throughout the book. The first time, it was actually pretty clever. The second time, even, was okay. But by the time I'd read it nine times -- yes, NINE TIMES, no exaggeration whatsoever -- I was ready to never EVER read anything like it ever again.
This particular phrase was something Kate Kane internalized or muttered aloud to herself each time she decided to do something stupid OR she felt her life was in danger. The basic format went something like this:
"Here lies Kate Kane, died peacefully in her sleep aged 94. Beloved daughter."
The "Here lies Kate Kane" part remained constant, as did the "Beloved daughter." It was only the middle part that changed, for instance, "Here lies Kate Kate. Should have minded her own business. Beloved daughter." Or perhaps, "Here lies Kate Kane. She made a difference to dozens. Beloved daughter."
This continued NINE TIMES. It is not cute, funny, or clever after about the second time, definitely after the third. BUT NINE TIMES?! Come on!
And finally, my last complaint.
6. Several of the items, scenes, quotes, etc. in this book seemed waaaaaaaaaay too close to things from other books for my taste. Perhaps it is simply a coincidence and the author did not intentionally siphon plot points and details from other authors -- except, of course, when he obviously did in his quotations, such as his use of "Not all those who wander are lost" and "As old as my tongue, a little bit older than my teeth" which are DIRECTLY taken from other books, but I'm hoping those were intentional and not attempted-to-get-away-with-it plagiarism.
But there are several things in this novel that could have been taken from Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files", Lewis' "Narnia" chronicles, and Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series. I'm hoping, however, that they weren't, but they were very, very similar.
All in all, I'm disappointed to say that I was not a fan of this book at all, and I will most likely not be reading anymore Kate Kane books.
*Warning: contains spoilers, bad words, and quite a long rant*
To be honest, I was very disappointed in this book. It had a great premise, which meant it had the potential to be a really good story, but the writing style of the author just completely ruined this book for me.
The basic idea behind the story is that Kate Kane, a paranormal PI, sets off on a case to find the brother of a woman she slept with once, and during this investigation, she runs into ALL MANNER OF TROUBLE. There are vampires and werewolves and ex-girlfriends around every corner, just lurking and waiting to pounce on Miss Kane. It's a very busy and involved story, and if it had been better written, I would have easily given it four stars at least, but there was just TOO much about this book -- style-wise -- that drove me insane.
For instance:
1. The plot, itself, is actually fairly well thought out and developed and is nowhere NEAR as cheesy as it sounds when you hear, "Vampires fighting werewolves," -- which, let's be honest, these days is so trite and overdone that it is scoffed at on a regular basis. However, there IS a good story in this novel. But the way Hall writes the not-cheesy story is so cheesy that it makes you THINK the story is cheesy. A lot of cheese, huh? A little confusing? Well then, let me give you an example.
Page 7-8: "Truth be told it was a little bit awkward, but my social weirdness threshold has gone way up since my girlfriend tried to murder my ex-girlfriend because her ex-girlfriend tried to murder her."
Okay... a bit ridiculous, especially seven/eight pages in, but I can roll with it. However, at the bottom of page eight:
Kane asks, "Who saw him last?"
Her assistant -- who is actually a statue brought to life and gifted to Kate by a group of rats who are apparently all seeing and all knowing God-types -- says, "I don't know. [...] Probably somebody at the hospital."
Kane asks, "Which one?"
And the assistant replies with this fantastic line: "The Whittington. He broke his leg changing a light bulb. Because he was standing on a swivel chair because he's an idiot."
Okay, I concede that maybe this line is supposed to sound ridiculous and funny, so I can even let that one slide. But then, three pages later, Hall completely turns me off to the book with this:
"Well, fuck. I was about to be hired by a woman I'd very nearly slept with to find her missing brother who was working for the woman who'd left me for a tech startup at the tech startup she left me for."
Wh-wh-what?! Are you kidding me? Could that sentence BE anymore convoluted or that plot-point any more ridiculously stereotypical?
And what is truly awful is that the story itself REALLY WASN'T THAT BAD. I mean, the writing was awful, which, overall, meant that the novel was -- in my opinion, of course -- bad, but the way the story progressed WAS interesting. It was nowhere near as bad as these 'recaps' by the main character make it sound, but the problem is that Hall throws in these inner-monologues for Kane ALL throughout the book, and they are terrible! Which, in turn, decreases the value of the entire story.
Another example falls right on the heels of the page 11 jewel.
Page 14: "I really really hoped this wasn't going to be another zombie plague. There'd been an outbreak when I'd taken Eve up to Lake Windermere for our third anniversary, and we'd spent the whole weekend under siege in the hotel, making molotovs from the minibar and clubbing re-animated tourists to death with souvenir walking sticks."
Really? Zombies now? On top of the vampires, witches, and werewolves? Can we POSSIBLY fit anymore para into this normal?
Enough with that.
Now on to point number 2. The girl on girl sex scenes in this book between sexy, snarky PI and her vampire girlfriend, the Prince (yes, Prince) of Cups, should be hot, right? No. They are forced, fake, and ridiculous. Halfway through the first one, I thought, "Jesus. This isn't lesbian sex. This is lesbian sex if it was written by a man who WISHES he could see some lesbian sex." That was the point at which I decided to look up more info on Alexis Hall, and I found out that he is, in fact, a man, which at least explains the sex scenes.
#3. Speaking of sex scenes, Hall also has this really irritating -- and distracting -- habit of throwing in random, explicitly sexual thoughts at TOTALLY inappropriate times. Right in the middle of the most stressful situations -- being locked up, about to be killed, thrown in prison/on trial -- Kate Kane begins inner-monologuing with herself about how much she'd like to fuck whatever female happens to be standing in front of her. RIDICULOUS! And annoying. Hated it.
4. One of the MOST annoying things about this book, however, was that it was in DESPERATE need of a SERIOUS case of editing. All throughout the book there were glaring errors that any first year college student should have caught while reading. I'm willing to discount SOME of these "errors" as simply being lost in translation, as the book is written with a British tone, and I am very much American. However, SOME of these errors simply CANNOT be due to anything other than careless editing.
For instance, page 113: "It's main distinguishing feature, right, was that was it was blue."
WAS that WAS it WAS blue? What does that even mean? Oh, yes, it means that no one bothered editing this beast before printing.
Page 141: "Piercing the heart will paralyse, but it won't kill, and anything will do, it doesn't have to wood."
Okay, so maybe the "paralyse" is simply British, but surely the "doesn't have to wood" bit needs a "be" in there somewhere, right?
Page 157: "Have we have achieved case closed, Miss Kane?"
Yes, yes have we have.
There are several -- SEVERAL -- more examples of these type errors, but I'm not about to point them all out. If you read the book, I'm sure you'll easily catch them on your own.
5. Another thing that drove me NUTS was the repetition. The awful thing is I'm fairly certain that Hall used these repetitious lines PURPOSELY to create some kind of effect -- humor, maybe? Whatever the desired result, it failed to do anything other than annoy me.
For instance, page 163: "'Hi. So. Look.' I tried to find a way to express the fact I had some good news and some bad news that wasn't I've got some good news and some bad news. 'I've got some good news and some bad news.'"
...blink... ...falls over...
Page 177: "All the more reason to tell them. [...] If they know that we know that she has returned, then they will not be tempted to conspire against us out of the false belief that we do not know. Of course, they may already know, but at present, we have no way to know what they know. If we tell them, we will know what they know, and all we will not know is how long they have known it."
Oh. Jumping. Jesus. On. A. Pogo. Stick. Please tell me you aren't serious.
And there was this one thing that repeated over and over again throughout the book. The first time, it was actually pretty clever. The second time, even, was okay. But by the time I'd read it nine times -- yes, NINE TIMES, no exaggeration whatsoever -- I was ready to never EVER read anything like it ever again.
This particular phrase was something Kate Kane internalized or muttered aloud to herself each time she decided to do something stupid OR she felt her life was in danger. The basic format went something like this:
"Here lies Kate Kane, died peacefully in her sleep aged 94. Beloved daughter."
The "Here lies Kate Kane" part remained constant, as did the "Beloved daughter." It was only the middle part that changed, for instance, "Here lies Kate Kate. Should have minded her own business. Beloved daughter." Or perhaps, "Here lies Kate Kane. She made a difference to dozens. Beloved daughter."
This continued NINE TIMES. It is not cute, funny, or clever after about the second time, definitely after the third. BUT NINE TIMES?! Come on!
And finally, my last complaint.
6. Several of the items, scenes, quotes, etc. in this book seemed waaaaaaaaaay too close to things from other books for my taste. Perhaps it is simply a coincidence and the author did not intentionally siphon plot points and details from other authors -- except, of course, when he obviously did in his quotations, such as his use of "Not all those who wander are lost" and "As old as my tongue, a little bit older than my teeth" which are DIRECTLY taken from other books, but I'm hoping those were intentional and not attempted-to-get-away-with-it plagiarism.
But there are several things in this novel that could have been taken from Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files", Lewis' "Narnia" chronicles, and Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series. I'm hoping, however, that they weren't, but they were very, very similar.
All in all, I'm disappointed to say that I was not a fan of this book at all, and I will most likely not be reading anymore Kate Kane books.
Review Date: 9/6/2014
*may contain spoilers*
I really loved this book. When I first received it, I was only moderately excited to read it. I thought that it would most likely be okay, but nothing special in today's world, where a person can't walk without tripping over a stack of YA Paranormal Romance novels. However, I was MORE than pleasantly surprised. Everything about the book was great. The protagonist is Emma, a teenage girl who has lost her father and, more recently, the love of her life, Nathan. Emma and her hyperactive Rottweiler, Petal, visit Nathan's grave most nights for the peace and quite that it gives Emma. One night, however, all of that changes when Emma meets Eric, a mysterious, seemingly-young man with a wedding band on his finger, who is talking with... a ghost? Emma quickly learns that she can see, communicate with, and even control the dead. She's a budding Necromancer, and Eric has been sent to kill her before she realizes her true potential.
But Emma isn't like the typical Necromancers that Eric has seen in his lifetime. She's kind, selfless, and devoted to her loved ones. Eric finds out just how different Emma is when Emma hears the cries of a four year old little boy named Andrew, who is dead, but can't stop reliving his horrifying death scene in the middle of a burning house. Emma is determined to get Andrew out of his own, personal hell, no matter the cost. Even when Emma tries to walk into the house and realizes that the ghost fire is real for her and can kill her, she still insists on saving Andrew.
From that point on, Silence is a heartbreaking tale of love, friendship, sacrifice, and loss. The characterization of the novel is wonderful, and the story-telling is beautiful. I absolutely could not put the book down. I devoured it. I cannot wait to read the second book in the series.
To that end, Michelle Sagara (or her publisher), if you read this review, please feel free to contact me if you have any ARC copies of the second book for which you need people to write reviews. I would be more than willing to do so. In fact, I'd be thrilled. I edit and review books professionally, and it is rare -- these days -- that I find a beginning book for a series that I enjoy so much that I volunteer to review any subsequent books gratis, but I would be honored to receive a copy of this book to review.
I really loved this book. When I first received it, I was only moderately excited to read it. I thought that it would most likely be okay, but nothing special in today's world, where a person can't walk without tripping over a stack of YA Paranormal Romance novels. However, I was MORE than pleasantly surprised. Everything about the book was great. The protagonist is Emma, a teenage girl who has lost her father and, more recently, the love of her life, Nathan. Emma and her hyperactive Rottweiler, Petal, visit Nathan's grave most nights for the peace and quite that it gives Emma. One night, however, all of that changes when Emma meets Eric, a mysterious, seemingly-young man with a wedding band on his finger, who is talking with... a ghost? Emma quickly learns that she can see, communicate with, and even control the dead. She's a budding Necromancer, and Eric has been sent to kill her before she realizes her true potential.
But Emma isn't like the typical Necromancers that Eric has seen in his lifetime. She's kind, selfless, and devoted to her loved ones. Eric finds out just how different Emma is when Emma hears the cries of a four year old little boy named Andrew, who is dead, but can't stop reliving his horrifying death scene in the middle of a burning house. Emma is determined to get Andrew out of his own, personal hell, no matter the cost. Even when Emma tries to walk into the house and realizes that the ghost fire is real for her and can kill her, she still insists on saving Andrew.
From that point on, Silence is a heartbreaking tale of love, friendship, sacrifice, and loss. The characterization of the novel is wonderful, and the story-telling is beautiful. I absolutely could not put the book down. I devoured it. I cannot wait to read the second book in the series.
To that end, Michelle Sagara (or her publisher), if you read this review, please feel free to contact me if you have any ARC copies of the second book for which you need people to write reviews. I would be more than willing to do so. In fact, I'd be thrilled. I edit and review books professionally, and it is rare -- these days -- that I find a beginning book for a series that I enjoy so much that I volunteer to review any subsequent books gratis, but I would be honored to receive a copy of this book to review.
Review Date: 9/6/2014
*May contain spoilers*
First of all, I'd like to start out by simply saying, I love this book; it is superb.
Now, for a small bit of background information. There are three other members of my family who have goodreads accounts aside from myself. So! When one of us wins a book from the First Reads Giveaways, we usually pass the book around amongst ourselves until each of us has read it. Well! My grandmother won this book, but she is getting older and is having trouble seeing well enough to read as much as she'd like.
Since I knew I'd be reading this book anyway, I decided to spend some time with her and simply read it aloud to her so we could read it together. That being said, I had the most difficult time actually putting this book down when it came time to do other things, like drive home, or do laundry, or well... EAT! Ha. There were certain times that I simply COULD NOT put it down. I had to take it home and read it, and then return to my grandmother's and re-read it to her later.
It was beautifully written. It seamlessly blends two separate stories. One of the stories focuses on Louise, the daughter of a wealthy, but distant, widower and the sister of a sickly, younger sister, who lived in 1899 Panama. The other story concerns a mother and her young son living in post 9/11 New York. Zig, the ten year old son, is different, special. He is fascinated with what he insists was his past life as an Indian shaman. At first his mother believes he is simply 'playing pretend' as children do. However, as time goes by and Zig gets in more and more trouble and as more and more strange occurrences happen, his mother, Sheri, wonders if there is more to his stories.
In 1899, Louise and her family travel to a rural village to visit a shaman in hopes of healing her sickly sister. When the shaman's -- or awa, as he is called -- handsome grandson returns home with the family, however, passions begin to stir inside Louise.
The story is fantastic; the writing style is beautiful. I highly recommend this book to... well, to anyone, honestly. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
First of all, I'd like to start out by simply saying, I love this book; it is superb.
Now, for a small bit of background information. There are three other members of my family who have goodreads accounts aside from myself. So! When one of us wins a book from the First Reads Giveaways, we usually pass the book around amongst ourselves until each of us has read it. Well! My grandmother won this book, but she is getting older and is having trouble seeing well enough to read as much as she'd like.
Since I knew I'd be reading this book anyway, I decided to spend some time with her and simply read it aloud to her so we could read it together. That being said, I had the most difficult time actually putting this book down when it came time to do other things, like drive home, or do laundry, or well... EAT! Ha. There were certain times that I simply COULD NOT put it down. I had to take it home and read it, and then return to my grandmother's and re-read it to her later.
It was beautifully written. It seamlessly blends two separate stories. One of the stories focuses on Louise, the daughter of a wealthy, but distant, widower and the sister of a sickly, younger sister, who lived in 1899 Panama. The other story concerns a mother and her young son living in post 9/11 New York. Zig, the ten year old son, is different, special. He is fascinated with what he insists was his past life as an Indian shaman. At first his mother believes he is simply 'playing pretend' as children do. However, as time goes by and Zig gets in more and more trouble and as more and more strange occurrences happen, his mother, Sheri, wonders if there is more to his stories.
In 1899, Louise and her family travel to a rural village to visit a shaman in hopes of healing her sickly sister. When the shaman's -- or awa, as he is called -- handsome grandson returns home with the family, however, passions begin to stir inside Louise.
The story is fantastic; the writing style is beautiful. I highly recommend this book to... well, to anyone, honestly. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Review Date: 9/10/2014
*may contain spoilers*
I FINALLY finished this book! It took me forever to read it, but not because it wasn't good. In fact, I really, really enjoyed it. It was a hilarious book filled with page after page of wonderful nonsense. And by wonderful nonsense, I mean something along the lines of Terry Prachett meets "Alice in Wonderland" with just a hint of "Red Dwarf" thrown in for good measure.
The author of the book is obviously intelligent, well-read, and snarky as hell because that is exactly what the book is -- intelligent, well-written, and snarky, sarcastic, and delightful. There were parts of this book that were so filthy and dirty, but in the most hilarious way possible. I never thought a haberdashery could be so sexual in nature. Haha.
There are also several -- SEVERAL -- literary and pop culture references strewn throughout the book that pop up and are gone so quickly you'll miss them if you aren't careful, and I LOVED finding them. Every time I recognized one of these little literary cameos, I got excited and giggly. For instance, the boy whose parents gave him the unfortunate name of Sioux (hehe) or the bright sun which sparkled over the city like twinkly vampires (snort).
I especially loved the part in the book where Bernard Wimple is forced to chase down grumplings and devour them before they ran rampant. Ha. It just cracked me up. I was laughing out loud the whole time.
It was a great little book. The only reason it took me so long to read it -- as I said in my updates while reading -- was because the font was small and single spaced, which killed my pitiful eyes. So I could only read a little at a time, but make no mistake, I truly did enjoy this book. I highly recommend it to fans of smart-ass comedy books.
I FINALLY finished this book! It took me forever to read it, but not because it wasn't good. In fact, I really, really enjoyed it. It was a hilarious book filled with page after page of wonderful nonsense. And by wonderful nonsense, I mean something along the lines of Terry Prachett meets "Alice in Wonderland" with just a hint of "Red Dwarf" thrown in for good measure.
The author of the book is obviously intelligent, well-read, and snarky as hell because that is exactly what the book is -- intelligent, well-written, and snarky, sarcastic, and delightful. There were parts of this book that were so filthy and dirty, but in the most hilarious way possible. I never thought a haberdashery could be so sexual in nature. Haha.
There are also several -- SEVERAL -- literary and pop culture references strewn throughout the book that pop up and are gone so quickly you'll miss them if you aren't careful, and I LOVED finding them. Every time I recognized one of these little literary cameos, I got excited and giggly. For instance, the boy whose parents gave him the unfortunate name of Sioux (hehe) or the bright sun which sparkled over the city like twinkly vampires (snort).
I especially loved the part in the book where Bernard Wimple is forced to chase down grumplings and devour them before they ran rampant. Ha. It just cracked me up. I was laughing out loud the whole time.
It was a great little book. The only reason it took me so long to read it -- as I said in my updates while reading -- was because the font was small and single spaced, which killed my pitiful eyes. So I could only read a little at a time, but make no mistake, I truly did enjoy this book. I highly recommend it to fans of smart-ass comedy books.
Review Date: 9/10/2014
*contains spoilers*
This book was good, but it was also lacking in places. The idea of the book was fantastic. As far as "vampire" books go, this one was definitely one of the most original ones I've ever read.
The basic premise is this:
Suddenly, for no apparent reason that anyone can fathom, all of the kids all over the world start dropping dead. Sick kids, healthy kids, black kids, white kids, smart kids, and dumb kids -- any kid who has yet to hit puberty -- including those still in the womb -- suddenly just die. The world, of course, is thrown into panic and chaos. There aren't enough funeral parlors or mortuaries to handle every dead child in the world, so large, mass graves are dug by city workers and volunteers, and the children are laid to rest inside of them. Furthermore, there aren't enough paramedics or trained personnel to pick up the dead, so the job falls to more volunteers and the city's sanitation workers -- the garbagemen, in other words.
Some people blame science/body chemistry/etc. Others claim it is a divine punishment from God. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that all the children are dead, and because the unborn children still in the womb are dying, too, it is a safe bet that within a hundred years tops, humanity will be extinct unless scientists can find a way to cure this new disease they are calling Herod's (which I thought was a clever name.) Since -- as they eventually find out -- it IS caused by a disease (a parasite, to be specific) rather than God, it takes a few days for the disease to sweep across the globe and kill every child. So, three days after the first child dropped dead, the last child finally dies somewhere in India. And all across the world, the adults go out to hold candlelight vigils for the deceased.
It is during one of these vigils that, as suddenly as they'd dropped dead, all the children (miraculously?) wake up once more. Those who hadn't been picked up simply wake up in their homes. Others begin crawling out of the large mass graves, all looking for their parents. At first people believe it to be a miracle, but shortly after the kids awoke and hugged their parents, they all start dropping dead again.
Finally, it is discovered that feeding the children blood will keep them alive for short periods of time -- a couple hours at best per pint of blood. Then the novel takes on an even darker tone as it becomes focused on just how far some parents would go to keep their children alive for another hour.
This examination of the human psyche -- especially as it relates to our parenting instincts -- is what made the book so interesting to me. It wasn't simply the horror story or the cool, catchy plot that I enjoyed. It was watching how society fell apart.
The thing the author of this book did better than ANYTHING ELSE was accurately portraying human nature if, in fact, humans were confronted with this type of insanity in real life. I believe that people would behave VERY MUCH like the characters in this book behaved, and that -- more than ANYTHING else -- was what made the book so utterly terrifying.
Some parents and doctors and citizens eventually began to think rationally, and decided to let their children die in peace, just as I feel that some people would if this were to happen in real life.
But others went crazy and stopped at nothing -- NOTHING -- to give their children more time. Furthermore, the other thing that DiLouie did perfectly was describe not just how individuals handled the loss, but how specific groups in society banded together to perform unspeakable acts in the name of saving their children.
For instance, one of the most horrifying scenes in the novel is when one of the characters is picked up by the police. He isn't taken to jail, however. Instead he is taken to what basically amounts as a body farm, where masked police officers were harvesting blood from dozens of people. At first, they started by offering parole to criminals already in the system in exchange for several pints of blood -- more than they could stand to give and still live, but the criminals didn't know that at the time. After they used up all the criminals in the system, they went out and rounded up homeless people that no one would miss. Again, what made it SO SCARY was the fact that I can totally see that happening if this kind of thing happened in real life.
In fact, one of the most chilling lines in the whole book was when the officer in charge let one of the men go, warning him not to call the police and try to report them because they were the police, and they'd know about it. Then they'd find him, and he'd not be lucky enough to be let go twice.
The only reason I say that the book was lacking was because I would have liked to have seen a bit more balance between those characters who decided to let their children die with dignity rather than murder for them and the characters who would do anything for their children. There were PLENTY of the latter, but only a very few of the former. In my opinion, it made the book a bit less believable because I believe that, in reality, there are at least a FEW MORE decent people out there who would see sense and reason in such a horrible situation. I would have really liked to see more of those "good people" and the struggle -- both internally and externally -- they must have gone through. It really would have rounded out the book nicely for me.
Also, the ending -- which I'm not going to spoil for anyone -- was a little less than satisfying for me. I liked it. I really did. But I think that it could have been a lot better.
Still, overall, a DAMNED good read.
This book was good, but it was also lacking in places. The idea of the book was fantastic. As far as "vampire" books go, this one was definitely one of the most original ones I've ever read.
The basic premise is this:
Suddenly, for no apparent reason that anyone can fathom, all of the kids all over the world start dropping dead. Sick kids, healthy kids, black kids, white kids, smart kids, and dumb kids -- any kid who has yet to hit puberty -- including those still in the womb -- suddenly just die. The world, of course, is thrown into panic and chaos. There aren't enough funeral parlors or mortuaries to handle every dead child in the world, so large, mass graves are dug by city workers and volunteers, and the children are laid to rest inside of them. Furthermore, there aren't enough paramedics or trained personnel to pick up the dead, so the job falls to more volunteers and the city's sanitation workers -- the garbagemen, in other words.
Some people blame science/body chemistry/etc. Others claim it is a divine punishment from God. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that all the children are dead, and because the unborn children still in the womb are dying, too, it is a safe bet that within a hundred years tops, humanity will be extinct unless scientists can find a way to cure this new disease they are calling Herod's (which I thought was a clever name.) Since -- as they eventually find out -- it IS caused by a disease (a parasite, to be specific) rather than God, it takes a few days for the disease to sweep across the globe and kill every child. So, three days after the first child dropped dead, the last child finally dies somewhere in India. And all across the world, the adults go out to hold candlelight vigils for the deceased.
It is during one of these vigils that, as suddenly as they'd dropped dead, all the children (miraculously?) wake up once more. Those who hadn't been picked up simply wake up in their homes. Others begin crawling out of the large mass graves, all looking for their parents. At first people believe it to be a miracle, but shortly after the kids awoke and hugged their parents, they all start dropping dead again.
Finally, it is discovered that feeding the children blood will keep them alive for short periods of time -- a couple hours at best per pint of blood. Then the novel takes on an even darker tone as it becomes focused on just how far some parents would go to keep their children alive for another hour.
This examination of the human psyche -- especially as it relates to our parenting instincts -- is what made the book so interesting to me. It wasn't simply the horror story or the cool, catchy plot that I enjoyed. It was watching how society fell apart.
The thing the author of this book did better than ANYTHING ELSE was accurately portraying human nature if, in fact, humans were confronted with this type of insanity in real life. I believe that people would behave VERY MUCH like the characters in this book behaved, and that -- more than ANYTHING else -- was what made the book so utterly terrifying.
Some parents and doctors and citizens eventually began to think rationally, and decided to let their children die in peace, just as I feel that some people would if this were to happen in real life.
But others went crazy and stopped at nothing -- NOTHING -- to give their children more time. Furthermore, the other thing that DiLouie did perfectly was describe not just how individuals handled the loss, but how specific groups in society banded together to perform unspeakable acts in the name of saving their children.
For instance, one of the most horrifying scenes in the novel is when one of the characters is picked up by the police. He isn't taken to jail, however. Instead he is taken to what basically amounts as a body farm, where masked police officers were harvesting blood from dozens of people. At first, they started by offering parole to criminals already in the system in exchange for several pints of blood -- more than they could stand to give and still live, but the criminals didn't know that at the time. After they used up all the criminals in the system, they went out and rounded up homeless people that no one would miss. Again, what made it SO SCARY was the fact that I can totally see that happening if this kind of thing happened in real life.
In fact, one of the most chilling lines in the whole book was when the officer in charge let one of the men go, warning him not to call the police and try to report them because they were the police, and they'd know about it. Then they'd find him, and he'd not be lucky enough to be let go twice.
The only reason I say that the book was lacking was because I would have liked to have seen a bit more balance between those characters who decided to let their children die with dignity rather than murder for them and the characters who would do anything for their children. There were PLENTY of the latter, but only a very few of the former. In my opinion, it made the book a bit less believable because I believe that, in reality, there are at least a FEW MORE decent people out there who would see sense and reason in such a horrible situation. I would have really liked to see more of those "good people" and the struggle -- both internally and externally -- they must have gone through. It really would have rounded out the book nicely for me.
Also, the ending -- which I'm not going to spoil for anyone -- was a little less than satisfying for me. I liked it. I really did. But I think that it could have been a lot better.
Still, overall, a DAMNED good read.
Review Date: 9/6/2014
I really enjoyed this book. It was more of a novella than a novel -- only 70 pages -- but it was self-contained and quite good. First of all, any of you who follow my reviews knows that bad grammar and poor editing are two of my giant pet peeves that just drive me insane. This particular book had none of that. It was very well-written and well-edited.
Furthermore, the storyline was unique. It is true that there are murder/mystery stories out there by the millions, but this one took its own interesting twist which makes it memorable. In other words, it isn't one of those books that a person reads and then, a month later, sees it somewhere and has to ask themselves, "Hmmm... did I read that? It seems vaguely familiar... Hmmm... I'm just not sure."
On the contrary, this book was one that, six months from now, someone will be discussing an episode of Bones or a James Patterson novel, and I will be able to chime in with, "OH! I read this book recently that was a bit like that, only it had ALLIGATORS in it!" Ha.
With such a small story, it is hard to write a long review, but I will say this, I will most definitely be reading the second book in the series -- All Saints' Secrets -- within the next 48 hours. :-D
Furthermore, the storyline was unique. It is true that there are murder/mystery stories out there by the millions, but this one took its own interesting twist which makes it memorable. In other words, it isn't one of those books that a person reads and then, a month later, sees it somewhere and has to ask themselves, "Hmmm... did I read that? It seems vaguely familiar... Hmmm... I'm just not sure."
On the contrary, this book was one that, six months from now, someone will be discussing an episode of Bones or a James Patterson novel, and I will be able to chime in with, "OH! I read this book recently that was a bit like that, only it had ALLIGATORS in it!" Ha.
With such a small story, it is hard to write a long review, but I will say this, I will most definitely be reading the second book in the series -- All Saints' Secrets -- within the next 48 hours. :-D
Review Date: 9/6/2014
I enjoyed it. I really hated the characters of Mia and Jake. They are just totally AWFUL people with no redeeming qualities. They almost overpower the book with their bitterness. However, there are some redeeming moments, such as Bret's choice not to seek vengeance on his prison cell-mate and the tireless pursuit of justice by Bret's uncle and his 'crew' of detectives and lawyers. There were some things that didn't really flow well, however, and the beginning of the book really didn't jive with the end of it... And there were some pacing issues that caused the book to drag a bit. A solid three stars.
Review Date: 9/10/2014
*DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS*
I received this through First Reads Giveaways.
It was a decent book, and it was very well-written. However, I don't feel that I can honestly give it more than 3 stars simply because of two things: the characters AND the predictability of the plot.
A. The Characters:
Muriel, of course, is a beautiful, heartbreaking example of a child who had to grow up much too young and with not enough love, who then lives a solitary adult life, unable to trust anyone enough to allow herself to be vulnerable with them. She and her boss, Joanie, are the only two likeable characters in the book, with POSSIBLY the exception of Logan, even though an argument could be made for disliking him as well based on his selfishness and thoughtlessness.
Pia and Lidia, on the other hand, are both despicable. I understand that the author was going for a "never too late for redemption" thing with both of them, but it falls flat simply because so much of the novel is devoted to them as heartless, selfish, cold, and cruel individuals undeserving of love or forgiveness. By the time Hogan (the author) turns around and has them experience something that changes their outlook on life -- Pia dying of cancer and Lidia losing her favorite daughter as well as her true love -- it is almost too late for the reader to forgive them, even though Muriel, herself, decides to do so.
Pia was horribly cruel to Muriel. Some might say that all older siblings are cruel to their baby sisters/brothers, but there comes a point when the older sibling is supposed to grow out of that phase. I won't swear to it, but I believe the BIG thing that Pia did to Muriel -- telling her about how much of a disappointment she was to her mother -- happened when Pia was TWENTY years old. That is ridiculous. She was a complete and total blank blank blank. Furthermore, after both girls were grown up and living their lives as women, Pia continued to hurt Muriel, only coming to visit her once in a blue moon, and spending that time criticizing Muriel's way of life. Pia only decides to "make peace" with Muriel when she's dying of cancer and has mere weeks to live, and even then, the way the scene is presented, it seems as though she is only doing so because she wants someone to make sure she looks beautiful in her casket.
The girls' mother, Lidia, is even worse. I don't have a single nice thing to say about this woman. She was the devil. She had three children: the youngest, she actively despised; the middle child, she ignored and left him to her husband; the oldest -- the one she conceived with her true love (not her husband) -- she adored and petted her, turning her into a selfish, entitled wench. And the reunion/forgiveness scene that Lidia FINALLY has with Muriel occurs about TWO SECONDS before the end of the book...? Yeah... No way an ACTUAL daughter would have forgiven such an awful human being so quickly. I just hated this woman through and through. And even her explanations and situations that are supposed to inspire sympathy for her do not make her any less terrible.
I could devote other paragraphs to the grandparents, to Owen, and to Logan, but I think you get the point.
B. Predictability:
The plot of this novel, while interesting enough to keep me reading it till the end, was quite predictable. By the time Pia and Muriel are having their dinner with the two strangers, I knew that Pia was going to reveal something huge to Muriel, and I knew, without a doubt, that that something was that she was dying. I wasn't sure, of course, if it was cancer or something else, but I did know she was dying, and I assumed that it was cancer because honestly, she just doesn't seem like the AIDS type, and therefore, cancer was the most likely option.
During the "one final rally" when Pia wakes up feeling healthy and alive and has a wonderful visit with Muriel... it was obvious she was about to die.
Furthermore, the "BIG SECRET!!!" behind Pia's real father and that whole story? Very obvious. Suspected it VERY early on, absolutely knew it without a doubt when the priest came to speak at Pia's funeral.
There were other examples, of course, but these were enough for me to make my point, I believe.
However, it wasn't a TERRIBLE book either, hence the three stars rather than anything less. I have DEFINITELY read worse books, and the actual writing style of the author is QUITE GOOD.
I received this through First Reads Giveaways.
It was a decent book, and it was very well-written. However, I don't feel that I can honestly give it more than 3 stars simply because of two things: the characters AND the predictability of the plot.
A. The Characters:
Muriel, of course, is a beautiful, heartbreaking example of a child who had to grow up much too young and with not enough love, who then lives a solitary adult life, unable to trust anyone enough to allow herself to be vulnerable with them. She and her boss, Joanie, are the only two likeable characters in the book, with POSSIBLY the exception of Logan, even though an argument could be made for disliking him as well based on his selfishness and thoughtlessness.
Pia and Lidia, on the other hand, are both despicable. I understand that the author was going for a "never too late for redemption" thing with both of them, but it falls flat simply because so much of the novel is devoted to them as heartless, selfish, cold, and cruel individuals undeserving of love or forgiveness. By the time Hogan (the author) turns around and has them experience something that changes their outlook on life -- Pia dying of cancer and Lidia losing her favorite daughter as well as her true love -- it is almost too late for the reader to forgive them, even though Muriel, herself, decides to do so.
Pia was horribly cruel to Muriel. Some might say that all older siblings are cruel to their baby sisters/brothers, but there comes a point when the older sibling is supposed to grow out of that phase. I won't swear to it, but I believe the BIG thing that Pia did to Muriel -- telling her about how much of a disappointment she was to her mother -- happened when Pia was TWENTY years old. That is ridiculous. She was a complete and total blank blank blank. Furthermore, after both girls were grown up and living their lives as women, Pia continued to hurt Muriel, only coming to visit her once in a blue moon, and spending that time criticizing Muriel's way of life. Pia only decides to "make peace" with Muriel when she's dying of cancer and has mere weeks to live, and even then, the way the scene is presented, it seems as though she is only doing so because she wants someone to make sure she looks beautiful in her casket.
The girls' mother, Lidia, is even worse. I don't have a single nice thing to say about this woman. She was the devil. She had three children: the youngest, she actively despised; the middle child, she ignored and left him to her husband; the oldest -- the one she conceived with her true love (not her husband) -- she adored and petted her, turning her into a selfish, entitled wench. And the reunion/forgiveness scene that Lidia FINALLY has with Muriel occurs about TWO SECONDS before the end of the book...? Yeah... No way an ACTUAL daughter would have forgiven such an awful human being so quickly. I just hated this woman through and through. And even her explanations and situations that are supposed to inspire sympathy for her do not make her any less terrible.
I could devote other paragraphs to the grandparents, to Owen, and to Logan, but I think you get the point.
B. Predictability:
The plot of this novel, while interesting enough to keep me reading it till the end, was quite predictable. By the time Pia and Muriel are having their dinner with the two strangers, I knew that Pia was going to reveal something huge to Muriel, and I knew, without a doubt, that that something was that she was dying. I wasn't sure, of course, if it was cancer or something else, but I did know she was dying, and I assumed that it was cancer because honestly, she just doesn't seem like the AIDS type, and therefore, cancer was the most likely option.
During the "one final rally" when Pia wakes up feeling healthy and alive and has a wonderful visit with Muriel... it was obvious she was about to die.
Furthermore, the "BIG SECRET!!!" behind Pia's real father and that whole story? Very obvious. Suspected it VERY early on, absolutely knew it without a doubt when the priest came to speak at Pia's funeral.
There were other examples, of course, but these were enough for me to make my point, I believe.
However, it wasn't a TERRIBLE book either, hence the three stars rather than anything less. I have DEFINITELY read worse books, and the actual writing style of the author is QUITE GOOD.
Review Date: 9/10/2014
I enjoyed this novel very much.
I had seen the movie, and I liked it quite a bit, but the novel was so much better. It was so much better, in fact, that after reading it, I'm not even sure I still like the movie.
The movie turned this story into a humorous, silly, and fun love story, but the novel? The novel was so much more than that. It was a love story, yes. And it had some humorous parts, yes. But there was a much deeper, serious tone to this novel that was simply absent from the movie. There was so much more going on here. So much more depth.
This novel questioned the very essence of what it is to be a human, to have a soul, to be ALIVE. We are more than meat and flesh and breath and bones. Wow.
I just really loved this novel. You know, I initially rated it four stars because I usually reserve five stars for things like George R.R. Martin and Neil Gaiman, but upon reflection, I'm going to change that rating. Because I truly did love this book.
I had seen the movie, and I liked it quite a bit, but the novel was so much better. It was so much better, in fact, that after reading it, I'm not even sure I still like the movie.
The movie turned this story into a humorous, silly, and fun love story, but the novel? The novel was so much more than that. It was a love story, yes. And it had some humorous parts, yes. But there was a much deeper, serious tone to this novel that was simply absent from the movie. There was so much more going on here. So much more depth.
This novel questioned the very essence of what it is to be a human, to have a soul, to be ALIVE. We are more than meat and flesh and breath and bones. Wow.
I just really loved this novel. You know, I initially rated it four stars because I usually reserve five stars for things like George R.R. Martin and Neil Gaiman, but upon reflection, I'm going to change that rating. Because I truly did love this book.
Review Date: 9/6/2014
***May contain spoilers***
I was less impressed with this novel than I would have hoped. Normally, I love reading the 'other side' stories. All the Gregory Maguire novels which tell the stories of fairy tale villains? I adore those stories. So, when I realized that Rhys had written this novel telling the story of the crazy wife whom Rochester kept hidden away in the attic, I was very excited.
Sadly, I was disappointed. It is a short novel; the copy I had was only 112 pages worth of actual story, and of those 112 pages, the majority of them are about 'Bertha' and her life before she came to England. That is interesting, of course, but I would have liked more of the story of her life in solitude. Furthermore, the ending is stale and falls much too flat to make an impact.
I was less impressed with this novel than I would have hoped. Normally, I love reading the 'other side' stories. All the Gregory Maguire novels which tell the stories of fairy tale villains? I adore those stories. So, when I realized that Rhys had written this novel telling the story of the crazy wife whom Rochester kept hidden away in the attic, I was very excited.
Sadly, I was disappointed. It is a short novel; the copy I had was only 112 pages worth of actual story, and of those 112 pages, the majority of them are about 'Bertha' and her life before she came to England. That is interesting, of course, but I would have liked more of the story of her life in solitude. Furthermore, the ending is stale and falls much too flat to make an impact.
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