Review: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this at first. The format is a little weird - it's like one big interview, so it's all just quotes for example:

Daisy: I liked doing drugs and hated people telling me what to wear.
Jon: Daisy had big eyes and little skirts, and very long legs. Everyone looked at her when she entered the room. They couldn't help it.
Daisy: I didn't care it people looked at me.
Karen: I wished Daisy didn't put so much focus on her body.

(None of those are actual quotes, just an example of the format. Other than a few italicized paragraphs at the beginning of some chapters, the entire book is like this.)

I nearly gave up on this book early into it. Not only did the format bother me, but I got so tired of reading about how beautiful, and wonderful, and gifted Daisy was. She tells you how great she is and then everyone being interviewed talked about how great she was. And all she did was lots and lots of drugs.

But I got used to the format and eventually the story included people other than Daisy. Daisy was by far my least favorite character in this story. At no point in this story did I like her. But I liked the other people in the band. Karen was my favorite. I really liked the relationship between Billy and his wife Camilla. That felt real. The story won me over, by about the 30 or 40% mark, I couldn't put the book down.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in stories about rock bands, especially those during the 70s and 80s. It's fiction, but I felt it could describe what a lot of bands went through.



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Review: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really good book. The author captured the details and feelings of being alone so accurately. Like some of this story, the descriptions of Eleanor going about her life, the routines, the organization, hit really close to home. I can't relate to the horrible, tragic backstory, but I know very well what it's like to go through life alone - and living in a world that doesn't understand people who are alone.

I really loved the characters, all of them. I loved seeing how Eleanor gradually began to allow people into her life.

The twist at the end, I was sort of expecting it, but I wish there had been more elaboration. Like it was accepted so easily and they just moved on. But maybe I feel that way because I wasn't ready for the book to end and let the characters go.


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Review: Goodbye, Paris by Anstey Harris

I didn't like this book much at all. Unfortunately, I was right at the 50% mark when I realized how much I disliked this book - and I'd been reading for an hour or so in the airport, and that's really some of the only quality reading time I get, and I didn't want to waste it by completely abandoning the book. So I kept reading, hoping maybe something would happen to improve my feelings about the story, but, no, that didn't happen.

In this book, we have Grace, a former musician, currently an instrument maker, who is in a long term relationship with a married man in France. She lives near a Eurostar station in the UK, and visits him in Paris often - though he lives with his family in Strasbourg. One night, when they go out, something happens which attracts media attention - and David is upset because he's afraid his children will find out he's in this relationship. Then the wife is upset because everyone now knows her husband has a mistress, even though she's always known and was okay with the arrangement. The huge social media response and the extreme attempt to hide this seems a bit much, and was one of the issues I had with this story. 

Eventually, Grace learns something horrible about David and has a breakdown, and her two friends, a man in his 80s and a teenage girl help her come to terms with what happened. I realize this is supposed to be a story about her finding herself and learning to move on without this man in her life, while also coping with some horrible things in her past, but it didn't feel that way to me. She didn't have much choice. She was, for the most part, dumped. She had to face the reality that the life she thought she had wasn't ever going to happen. I didn't find the story especially empowering, but rather very sad.

I think what really set me off is that this story included items that I consider to be pet peeves of mine, and I know it's something that doesn't bother other people, so maybe take my intense dislike with a grain of salt.

I'm so tired of books in which the main story line is a seemingly intelligent woman deeply involved in a very, very bad relationship with a horrible man. (In this book, we spend about half the book being told he's a really great guy, everyone likes him, he's supportive of her interest and career, attentive and caring, and then all of a sudden we learn he's the worst.) But even more than that, I'm tired of stories in which these same women enter into long-term relationships because of an accidental/unplanned pregnancy. This is becoming a thing, or maybe I just keep selecting the wrong books. Several books I've read in the last few months involve a woman in a bad relationship or in most cases (not in this case) a marriage all because they got pregnant - didn't like the person all that much, or know him all that well, but hey, we have no other option because BABY and that's the most important thing in a woman's life, right? - cringe. Also, in almost all of the cases, the pregnancy ends in miscarriage, but the relationship continues, everyone so very sad and hopeless because there's no baby. In one of the books, the baby died after a year or so, and the woman remained in the marriage even though the pregnancy was the result of break-up sex, and eventually walked in on her husband having sex with his secretary. I long for stories about women who take some sort of control over their lives and realize that getting pregnant doesn't automatically mean having a baby or, even if they do want the baby, realizing marriage isn't necessary.

Spoilers - lots of them, so stop reading if you don't want to know what happens in this book - in this particular book, Grace meets a man, David at a party. His wife is at the party, but leaves early. David goes back to Grace's place, he tells her he's married, and she's perfectly okay with them still having sex, despite knowing this. Then a few weeks later, she realizes she's pregnant by this man she knew only a few hours, but immediately her whole world becomes all about having a baby. She informs David, he's not thrilled about this, as he has two children and a pregnant wife. But we're told he suddenly becomes a wonderful, caring boyfriend. After Grace has a miscarriage, she becomes obsessed with getting pregnant again, and when this doesn't happen, she goes through all kinds of tests, with David right beside her holding her hand - but failing to mention he's had a vasectomy. WTF? Did I mention, he's the worst?

And since I'm providing spoilers anyway, the end of the book, in which we see Grace overcoming some of her teenage traumas, we then learn the teenage friend is pregnant. Grace suddenly knows this because the girl looks fierce and confident, or something absurd like that. (She contrasted the girl whose diary she read with the girl she saw performing earlier and this change in her disposition led Grace to realize the girl what pregnant? Okay.) So yet again, we're celebrating an unplanned pregnancy. This girl has dropped out of school, has been having sex with her friend's boyfriend, and had a bit of a coke habit, but hooray, she's going to have a baby now! We couldn't have instead had her, oh, I don't know, get noticed as being a skilled musician and get accepted into a prestigious school or offered a job with a great symphony? No, babies, always babies.

All that being said, I know a lot of people love books that focus on women having babies, women discovering their true purpose by procreating. I'm sure this book will be wonderful for people like that.

I really, really wish I'd picked a different book to read while traveling over the Thanksgiving holidays.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Such an important and timely story, and I'm so glad an author with Picoult's clout chose to tell it.

This tells the story of the people working at a women's health clinic when they're attacked by a "pro-lifer" wanting to avenge his daughter who had an abortion. (As the story progresses, you realize his daughter didn't even have an abortion there, but that's what he thinks when he shows up and starts shooting.)

I thought Picoult did a good job of showing what everyone was going through - the doctors, nurses, office staff, as well as the patients, and the police officers outside. I also realize that she was making an effort to show all side of the story and claim that the pro-lifers aren't really evil. That's nice and all, but it's a little difficult to convince me there's any good in anyone who feels women shouldn't be allowed to control what happens to their own body. But respect to the author for making that extra effort to try and claim they don't really want to control women.

Anyway, I was glad to see that the author was showing the necessity of abortion clinics and how they work to help women. These people are putting their lives at risk every day so that someone else can live the life they want. She went into the different reasons why people - the doctors and patients - found themselves in these situations. These women aren't there because they're selfish, they're doing what they think is best at this point in their lives.

I didn't love the way in which the story was written, going back an hour with each chapter. It made the story feel a bit repetitive because we already know what's happened to a lot of the people. I know the purpose is to reveal more about each character, but it made it too easy to set the book down. Also, there's a bit of a twist in the story involving the nurse, and it's there for shock effect, and I know Picoult's books tend to have something like that in them. But I didn't like it, it felt very unnecessary and a little confusing. There's an even bigger twist involving some of the other characters. That part, I thought was interesting. In the end though, what you realize is there are so many people living lives they didn't want because of accidental or unplanned pregnancies. They did what they felt they should and brought the unplanned child into the world, and in doing so, had to give up their own dreams and plans. Even if their lives turned out okay, it wasn't the life they'd wanted, and years later, they find themselves in a constant state of disappointment, missing the life they gave up in order to bring a child into the world.

Overall though, a very good book providing a lot to think about.

I received a copy via NetGalley.

Review: Paris Ever After by K.S.R. Burns

I didn't like this book very much. This review is sort of regarding both this book and The Paris Effect, who which Paris Ever After is a sequel.

First, lots of respect to the author for writing something so weird and different. When I first saw the book, thought it was another story about a woman who runs off to Paris to escape her dull life and find herself. And it is that, but it's a lot more. The characters are bizarre. The Paris in this story is not the one we're used to seeing or reading about, but rather one of underground clubs and insane English women, and creepy, lying men. No one is what they seem.

As for the main character, she's equally complicated and disturbed. She's married to a man she doesn't love and married only because she was pregnant - but had a miscarriage very early in the pregnancy and has since been miserable in her marriage for years. A big part of the story involves her grieving the loss of her best friend, who was also her lover in college though her confusion about her sexual orientation is never really addressed. (I was kind of hoping the story would end up with her finding an amazing woman in Paris but finally realizing maybe she was never happy in her marriage because she was lesbian, but that didn't happen - big missed opportunity because the actual romance that got tacked on at the end of this book was super boring.)

There are several characters suffering from some fairly serious mental issues and no one seems to be especially concerned about this. The English woman who lies and manipulates people, her daughter who is either a liar or suffered something fairly traumatic that no one is addressing, and then the creepy guy who pretends to be wealthy. Then we have the main character's eating disorder that is only sort of addressed - mostly in the first book, less so in this one.

I didn't really like the characters in this book. Amy, the main character, is selfish and irresponsible. She runs off to Paris while her husband is away on business, thinking she'll be back before he returns. Then she gets sick, loses her phone, ends up being completely dependent on total strangers. That was the first book. And I didn't like it all that much, hadn't planned to read next book - but then I saw in on NetGalley and I was curious as to what happens next because as I said, I was quite impressed with how bizarre the story was.

In this book, Amy has a fight with her husband, takes off to Paris again. She essentially abandons her marriage and then, surprise, realizes she's pregnant. So again, she's expecting these people she barely knows to care for her. And her constant referring to her unborn child by name is so annoying - once in a while, okay, but it's constant, the baby (I don't remember the name) likes this, the baby was doing this, the baby wants this. That kind of made me hate the character.

Also, as I've said in other reviews, many times I'm sure, I despise stories in which the accidental pregnancy is the most wonderful thing ever - the last thing this woman needs is a baby. She doesn't even have a place to live, or any source of income or any real plans at all regarding her future.

Clearly, I didn't like the book very much.

I received a copy via NetGalley.

Review: The Paris Secret by Karen Swan

The Paris Secret by Karen Swan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really could have done without the whole "my sweet, gentle brother who would never hurt a soul is being wrongly accused of rape by a crazy woman who is obsessed with him because their one night stand didn't mean more" story line. Ugh, really? Maybe he shouldn't have put himself in that situation. Maybe he shouldn't be having one night stands. I'm kidding, but isn't that what women get told all the time? I just felt that part of the story was unnecessary - I especially didn't like the way it was built up. For about half the book we know the brother has been wrongly accused of something awful, and it's going to ruin their family and reputation, but we don't know what it is. And then it's really easily resolved after it causes a bunch of problems in Flora's newest relationship. The whole thing felt icky to me.

I found the story interesting - I always enjoy stories that tie back to WWII and art. But that part of the story played such a small role in this book. It was much more about Flora and the men who wanted her and the men she wanted. And the big relationship at the end didn't make much sense because they supposedly hated each other, but turns out that hate was really attraction. Are they ten?

There were too many twists in this story that didn't feel very developed. They were all resolved with hunches or feelings, not much actual explanation. Flora looks at things and suddenly knows the truth.

Did not love this book.

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Review: Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

Very well written, but so sad. Events in this story broke my heart, so many misunderstandings and missed opportunities, like a Thomas Hardy novel. But Hardy is one of my favorite authors. Despite feeling as if my heart were breaking over and over again, I enjoyed the book. Moyes writes stories that make me feel things I didn't think I was capable of feeling - things I never feel in real life.

I do recommend this if you want a good, emotional love story.

Review: One Breathless Night by Jo Leigh

I liked this book a lot, but it certainly does make every other New Year's Eve celebration seem very dull. Rick and Jenna watch in horror as their significant others kiss at midnight and in retaliation, Rick turns to Jenna and kisses her in a way described later as "alarmingly amazing." The two run off to the apartment Rick is staying at in Boston. At first the two are consoling each other. Jenna was in the midst of planning a wedding - the dress was already bought and Rick had an engagement ring in his pocket, planning to propose at midnight.

But then they realize it's a new year and time to begin new lives and try new things. A snow storm forces them to spend the next few days together, and they make the most of their time in the very sophisticated, high tech, "smart" apartment Rick is staying at - testing it for a friend.

The weekend together leads to an attempt at a long distance relationship - Jenna's a school teacher in the Boston area and Rick is a storm chaser in Oklahoma. They're both forced to re-evaluate what they thought they wanted in a relationship, versus what they need.

These are great characters, with very real emotions and reactions to their situations as they struggle to figure out how to be involved in a real, though somewhat inconvenient relationship.

Enjoyable, fast paced story, great characters, great story, very steamy. I'd say perfect read for New Year's Eve, but it sort of makes me realize how pathetic my own New Year's Eve is going to be in a few hours. Oh well, good book anyway.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: Humbugs and Heartstrings by Catherine Ferguson

I liked this story. It's a take on Christmas Carol, which is a favorite of mine.

It's around Christmas, and Bobbie is trying to save up money so her brother can have an operation. But her boss, Carol, is horrible. However, Carol is also her former best friend. In this version of the story, Carol is Scrooge and Bobbie is well, Bob Cratchit. There aren't any actual ghosts, but there is a woman who reads tea leaves, the appearance of a old DVD and some odd electric shortages in place of the spirits.

A man named Charlie is the catalyst who enters their lives. Bobbie meets him first, via email and the phone, and against her better judgment is developing a rather powerful crush on him. She thinks Carol also likes him, until it because clear she is trying so hard to impress him in hopes of some financial backing for her failing business.

The story is more about Bobbie and Carol's friendship than any sort of romance, which was fine with me. But some parts of the friendship didn't seem very realistic. If Carol was such a great friend, why did things fall apart so badly? The story goes back and forth and it's hard to tell what kind of person Carol really is.

Some of the situations were a little ridiculous and unbelievable. Set up a huge Christmas Fair with practically no experience. Huge absurd fights. This is something of a lighthearted story that avoids going into too much depth as to the underlying emotions and causes of their actions and behaviors. As terrible as things may be at one moment, they are as quickly and easily resolved in the next.

Overall an enjoyable, light, quick read focusing on friendship, set around the holidays.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: Cold Feet at Christmas by Debbie Johnson

I really liked the way this book started. Leah is on the run on what was supposed to be her wedding day after she finds her soon-to-be husband shagging a bridesmaid. The wedding was supposed to be the perfect fairy tale, set at a Scottish castle. She takes off in the snow and her car breaks down. So, at risk of freezing to death, she begins to walk to the nearest building - all while still in her wedding dress.

The door is answered by a handsome American who Leah is certain must be a god. Rob is hiding out in Scotland to avoid his family during the Christmas holidays. He takes Leah in, where she promptly passes out from her walk through the cold. He warms her up and she recovers, and because of the weather, the two are trapped together for a while.

During this time, they give into their attraction to each other, both assuming it's just a holiday thing from which they will both soon walk away. But after Rob learns why Leah ran, he offers her a new beginning in Chicago. He's wealthy and can afford to help her out, but he's very clear about not wanting to continue having any sort of physical relationship with her, that part of their relationship is over.

Leah takes him up on the offer, but later has regrets. The fun Rob she spent Christmas with in Scotland is gone, replaced by a workaholic serious, angry man.

This is when I began to like the book a bit less. What started out as fun and cute, took on a much darker shade as the characters begin to deal with some nightmares from their past. And yet, the writing continued to provide this information in the same, light-hearted style which felt odd to me.  Though, at one point, Leah is described as always handing serious issues by making light of them and trying to remain humorous - and that's how this story was written.

Leah and Rob are still drawn to each other, but Rob is avoiding relationships - he has his reasons. Leah is heartbroken. They go back and forth for a while and then Leah moves out.

I'm not going to spoil what happens next. But it's the sort of thing that tends to put me off a book. One of my least favorite twists to a story. For a moment, I began to really regret the time I'd spent with this story. It's not necessarily something most people dislike, in fact, a lot of romance readers probably love this sort of storyline. I hated it for a while, but in the end, I hated it less and even sort of liked it. To be clear, the author handled a story line I usually hate in such a way that I still enjoyed the book.

Overall, it's a fun, light-hearted story, despite some serious issues with which the characters are dealing. A nice, happy ending most people will enjoy.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

I had no idea what this book was about when I started it. Was not at all what I was expecting.

Following a nuclear meltdown, which kills both of her parents who worked at the nuclear plant, Emily Shepard is on the run. She feels that she has no where to go because people blame her parents for what happened.

Her life is horrible. The things she does to survive are so disturbing. But Emily is tough. She figures out how to get by, no matter the circumstances.  Her behavior is frighteningly self destructive until she takes in a homeless boy named Cameron. She realizes she has to get her act together in order to take care of him.

I liked this book. It's dark, but not nearly as dark as it could have been or I thought it was going to end up being. There's hope at the end.

This author wrote one of my favorite books, Midwives, which is why I wanted to read this. I'm glad I did read it.

I find myself wanting to recommend this book to my high school students. I think it's something a few of them would like a lot. It has a hint of dystopia, but set very much in the current world.

The audio version of this is really good also. It's read by the author's daughter, and he says he thought of her as her wrote the story - but also that there were parts of the story that he couldn't hear his daughter read because of the events happening in the book to the character.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: So Tough to Tame by Victoria Dahl

This is the last Victoria Dahl book I have on my kindle, and after spending the last two weekends with the first and second book in her Jackson Hole series, I wasn't sure I wanted to read this yet.  Because after I read it, I'd be done, and then what?  Her new one isn't coming out until this summer.  Could I really go that long without another of her books?  And here is where I tell you I have a long, horrible history of saving things I want until later.  I was the child who put aside my favorite Halloween candy for later, only to discover it had all gone bad by the time I found it again. I never learned my lesson.  I did this every year.  I still do this - not that I still go trick or treating, but you get the idea.  This is a problem.  A problem I need to stop.  So what the hell, I decided I'd read it now and not save it for later because why am I always putting off the things I want in life?  Okay, well, that got a little too intense for the beginning of a book review.  Anyway.

No surprise, I very much enjoyed this book.  Read a few chapters last night, and began my day with it, doing absolutely nothing other than make coffee until I'd finished it.  Perfect way to spend a Sunday - or any day for that matter.

While I didn't love this book as much as I liked the other two books, it's important to keep in mind that I loved those books just about more than I've ever loved any romance novel.  With the other books, I felt as though I could relate very well to both Grace and Merry.  Not the case with this story.  So while this book didn't turn me into a sobbing mess as the other two had, I still thought it was a very good book.

Charlie (short for Charlotte) has returned to her hometown after an embarrassing embezzlement scandal.  She's taken a job at a ski resort owned by the husband of an old high school friend because it's pretty much the only place that will hire her.  But things aren't going so well at the job.  Her old friend is behaving strangely.  Charlie decides to move out of the apartment provided at the resort and get a place in town.   That's when she runs into another friend from her past - Walker.  She'd crushed on him in high school, but she was never anything more than his friend and more importantly his tutor.  Walker was a flirt, everyone loved him and he didn't waste his time on "good" girls.

But Charlie's all grown up now, and she wants to make sure Walker knows that a lot of things have changed since high school.  Along the way, she also discovers that Walker is a lot more than the carefree, good old boy cowboy she imagined him to be.  They both have their secrets, which are revealed gradually, causing the expected disagreements and heartbreaks.  Part of the fun is seeing them get through all of this.

After reading this series, I guess I have to stop saying I don't like cowboy romances.  But maybe that's because Dahl's cowboys have a bit more depth than the cowboys with which I'm familiar.  Walker is such a funny, nice guy.  Like Charlie, he's also left his last job after a bit of a scandal.  He's trying to find work and feels like he doesn't have many options.  Charlie sees more in him than he sees in his self.  Sometimes that's the main thing a person needs - someone who believes in him - even though at first Charlie's attempts at helping him are met with anger.

Besides the very steamy scenes - and she writes some of if not the best - I think what makes Dahl's books so strong is the real way her characters behave.  They're real people.  They have real jobs.  They have real flaws and they're scared to death to fall in love.  I suppose the part where they divert from reality is that they are willing to face their flaws and try to overcome them because someone in their life has convinced them it's okay to want a better life.  But it's books like this that provide hope that even real people can move past their mistakes and have a good life.  You don't have to be a princess or a billionaire to deserve love and a satisfying job.  That's another thing I appreciate about these books - it's never a simply "love solves all" but rather a process showing that accepting love also means correcting the other things that are messing up their lives - things like screwed up family relationships and bad jobs.  These are not stories of heroes sweeping in to rescue someone in trouble, but rather the characters learning to rescue themselves.

I loved this series, and if I was a really, really nice person, someone like Walker, I'd buy multiple copies of these books, and I would give them to my friends any time they were having a bad day.  Seriously, I think they're more enjoyable and way more healthy than chocolate or cupcakes.  But instead, I will just strongly recommend that you get yourself a copy of these books.  Start with Close Enough to Touch and work your way to this one, and then move on to the Girls Night Out series.  (I actually read those books before these, now I may need to re-read them because I know some characters from these books appeared in those.)

I received a review copy via NetGalley.

Review: Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell

I'm feeling some annoyance with this book because it took me so long to read.  The story moved so slowly, with hardly anything of significance happening in the first half of the book.  Also, the way it is written with one chapter happening in 1920 followed by a chapter in 1995 seemed to kill any sort of urgency to keep turning the page.

But at the same time, I have to acknowledge that the story is interesting and the book is well written.  The two story lines of two very different women provide a compelling story of the struggles of women then and now.  The expectations of family and society along with the conflicting desires of independence and love always make for a thoughtful mix.  Also, I loved the London setting and the time period - both time periods.  I liked reading about London after the war, and the shops and Bloomsbury and Soho areas.  Also, I found the 1995 setting to be of particular interest because I graduated from high school in 1994 and was out on my own for the first time in 1995, so I felt a connection with Betty in that way.

The story is about Arlette and her step-granddaughter, Betty.  After Arlette dies, she leaves everything a person named Clara Pickle, someone no one in her family has ever heard of, nor are they able to locate.  So Betty, who has spent the past few years caring for Arlette, decides she'll move to London and find Clara.  As Betty is making the transition to living in London and beginning her search, we are also told the story of Arlette moving to London as a young woman.  We see them both falling in love with the city, exercising their independence, getting their first jobs, making new friends and attracting the attention of men.  They're both young and beautiful and on their own in London for the first time their lives.  And here's something of a spoiler, but both of them gradually watch as their dreams fall apart.  This story is so sad.  I'm something of a fan of sad stories, but this may have been too sad, especially where Arlette was concerned.  Betty is still young, so there's still some hope for her.  But we already know how Arlette's life ended, and knowing the life she had before, the life her family knew nothing of, makes the rest of her life especially bleak.  I suppose this is why the book is called, "Before I Met You."

This is another book I would place on my imaginary shelf titled, "an abortion would have solved most of your problems."  So many women - and men - in this story have their lives destroyed by the result of unwanted or unplanned pregnancies - whether it be the result of rape, ignorance or carelessness.  From the woman who feels obligated to marry her rapist to the alcoholic mother with a houseful of young boys to the pop star with the failed marriage and three children under the age of three.  There's something so sad about children being viewed as dreaded responsibilities and punishment.  They're doing these children no favors bringing them into a world in which they aren't wanted and are in turn neglected or resented by angry, sad or unprepared parents..  In this way, maybe this book is a bit too painfully realistic.

Maybe I need more happiness in the books I read or if it's going to be sad, I want there to be some value in it.  As I said before, the book is well-written, it's given me quite a bit to think about.  But I don't know that I gained much from the reading experience.  Maybe it isn't so much happiness that I need as some sort of a strong emotional impact.  This was simply dreary.

This is the second book I've read by Lisa Jewell in the past few weeks, and yet again, I found myself disappointed with the attempt to create a "happy ending" in a case which was far, far from happy.  To be fair, this ending was not quite as bad as House We Grew Up In, which left me horrified, but still, so depressing.  While, yes, there was some resolution, it wasn't especially satisfying.  The choices made didn't seem to be choices that were great, but rather, not as bad as the alternative.

Not sure I'd recommend this book to anyone, though it might work well for a book club.  Again, like House We Grew Up In, there's quite a bit I'd like to discuss regarding this book.

I received a review copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: Flirting with Disaster by Victoria Dahl

I've gotten behind on my book reviews, and I feel like I've done everyone a big disservice by waiting so long to write this review.  Especially with all this cold, snowy, icy weather most of us have been having.  Because this book, Flirting with Disaster by Victoria Dahl, is almost guaranteed to keep you warm.  Perfect for those cold days when you can't leave the house, and want to spend the day curled up with a good book.  You need this book.

I liked this book so very much.  Actually, I loved this book.  It's early in the year, so if I say one of the best books I've read all year, the compliment doesn't have the kind of weight it deserves so let me add that I feel certain when the year nears its end, I'll still be able to say it's one of the best books I've read this year.  Easily going on my list of favorite romance novels.  This book is so good.

The book immediately caught my interest in its description of the heroine.  Thirty something artist, Isabelle, living in a cabin on her own, with a decent distance between her and the next person.  She's happy with her life, content to be on her own.  And I thought yes, this is someone to which I can relate.  Someone who isn't pining away for a husband and babies.  Someone who is happy with her work and her solitude.  And she's an artist.  As an artist, I was impressed by how well Dahl captured the life and mind of an artist.  Sometimes I read books in which a character in an artist and I find myself thinking, painters don't really think like that, weirdo.  But this character resonated with me.

There are some great characters in this story, besides the main couple.  My favorite secondary character was probably Isabelle's neighbor who was always cooking for everyone.  I usually don't like small town contemporary romances, but I love this Jackson: Girls Night Out series and the people in these books.  I have read the other books in the series, Looking for Trouble and a novella, Fanning the Flames, and enjoyed them, but it isn't necessary to read them before this one.  This stands alone just fine.

Everything is going well in Isabelle's life, when Tom, a U.S. Marshall shows up at her door, claiming he's there to protect a judge whose life is in danger.  But Isabelle panics, certain he's figured out her secret.  She isn't who she claims to be.  She's in hiding because of crimes her father committed and she's afraid she's been caught.  Eventually she realizes Tom was telling the truth - the story about the judge is all over the news, but her behavior has now made him suspicious, and he's attracted to her and wants to know more about her - as you can guess, he does figure out her secret.  So there's a bit of crime drama/mystery to this story, along with a very steamy romance.

So steamy.  This book has some of the best sex scenes I've ever read.  Ever.  I'm trying to think of some educated, mature way to write about this and all I can come up with is, "This book is so hot!"  Because it is.  I mean, the story is great, the characters are interesting, and yes, the sex is so very hot.

I loved that the characters are intelligent and independent and they know what they want.  This is romance for grown-ups.  These are real people, living real lives, working on creating a real relationship.

I'd recommend this book to anyone.  Grab it before all the snow melts, and pretend like you've got your own little cabin in the snowy woods and enjoy!

I received a review copy via NetGalley.

Review: The Art of Falling by Kathryn Craft

I liked this book a lot. Very well written. I wasn't sure what to expect from it - I put off reading it because I thought it was another "new adult" romance. It isn't at all. It's actually a very thoughtful story about a woman dealing with what might be the end of her dance career, and figuring out what she wants and needs in life. More about forming important bonds with family and friends and not a romance story.

Penny ends up in a hospital bed and she's told that she jumped off the balcony in a suicide attempt.  She's certain she wouldn't do that, but at the same time, she isn't sure what happened.  As she recovers from her fall, and bits of her past are revealed it becomes clear to the reader and to Penny that she was in a very dark place before she fell and landed on the baker's car under her apartment.

She spent her whole life dancing, trying to fit into a world that had no place for someone with her body type.  Despite all her work, she's horrified by reviews which describe her as "huge" - her presence on the stage assumed to be a contrast to the smaller dancers.  Even worse than the reviews was being left behind by her lover who used her to create his show but didn't need her anymore when he was ready to go on tour.

The story isn't simply about her size and her struggles with her weight, or even her struggles within the dance world.  As she is forced to leave dance in order to recover physically, she also begins to repair her inner self.  She sees the damage she's caused herself as well as the emptiness in her life.  She forms a deep friendship with her roommate from the hospital, as well as the baker, on whose car she landed.  She starts to see the world from a different perspective.

The characters are so well written, this is the sort of book that when it was over, I felt an emptiness.  I missed them.  I wondered what they were doing now, because they felt so real I knew their existence wasn't gone simply because the book had ended.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a thoughtful story about a woman putting her life back together after thinking all of her dreams have fallen apart.

I received a review copy via NetGalley.

Review: Love Me Back by Merritt Tierce

Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down.  I had plans to do some shopping and maybe go see a movie today, but I decided to use this sudden cold front as perfect excuse to not leave the house so I could keep reading. 

And yet, the story is so disturbing.  I've been reading a lot of romance novels lately - stories about good, tough women and men who may struggle with their feelings and have great sex and eventually live happily ever after.  This book is not that, this book is the exact opposite of that.  Maybe I was in need of some variety in my reading.  There are no lessons learned, no sign at all that there is some end to this woman's downward spiral.  If anything, I suspect my interest in the story is some sort of voyeuristic appeal.  It’s like watching a train wreck, a really well-written train wreck.  It’s gruesome and horrible, but you can’t look away.  Marie’s life and her behavior is so incredibly self destructive: drugs, sex, cutting.  And there isn't even the typical story of a bad childhood or abuse to explain it.  She chose all of this.  She had a supportive family, and a husband who loved her.  But she didn't want that.  She walked away from it and entered her own personal hell. 

While Marie clearly seems to love her daughter, she doesn’t love being a mother.  In fact, it was the realization that she didn’t want to be a mother that prompted her path of self-destruction.  She was a good girl who got pregnant shortly before graduating from high school.  Instead of going to college, she got married, had the baby, tried to live the life she was supposed to live and it didn't feel right.

This is one of those books I would place in a category I refer to as, "all their problems could have been avoided if only they'd had an abortion." (I seriously considered making this one of my goodreads shelves because for a while I felt like I was reading a lot of books about women who were in terrible situation that resulted from unplanned pregnancies.  Never do the characters mention abortion, that’s simply my opinion upon reading the stories.)  Let’s be honest, a lot of women’s problems are the result of having unwanted children – in fiction and reality.  I say this as someone who has always known that I didn’t want to have children.  My two attempts at having a pet had me on the verge of nervous breakdowns.  If a dog or a cat left me feeling like that, I can’t even imagine trying to care for a child.  Maybe that’s why this book was so appealing to me.  Because maybe it isn’t so difficult for me to imagine how life might fall apart when forced into a role that isn’t right, a role that the rest of the world claims is great and wonderful, but feels so wrong that a person will do anything, absolutely anything, to try and escape.

Another thing I really liked about this book was the setting.  The story takes place in Dallas, a Dallas that was familiar to me.  I recognized the streets, the restaurants, the people – and I don’t mean specific people, but rather the type of people.  This was the Dallas I knew in the late 90s, early 2000s, when I was in my twenties.  There was so much money in this city, so many men flaunting their money, new money trying to fit in with old money, and the women wanting so desperately for a connection to some of that money.  Maybe that still happens in Dallas, but a few years ago, I left my job in Dallas and became a school teacher in the suburbs, so reading this book was a bit nostalgic. These people weren't a part of my world, but I saw them, they were at the clubs, entering the VIP rooms, and at the Mavs games - not in the cheap seats.  I never set foot in any of the expensive eating establishments like where Marie works, but I was aware of those places (and now I’m really glad we never ate at any of those places because they don't seem all that special after reading about what happens behind the scenes).  My friends and I were more the Café Brazil than Dream Café sort.  

  

This book isn't for everyone and I suspect there are plenty of people who will hate it.  I enjoyed the book and yet part of me feels like I shouldn’t have.  It’s wrong to view someone’s disaster as entertainment, isn’t it?  But people enjoy horror stories, right?  And that’s considered acceptable.  If some sort of redeeming quality is necessary, view this as a cautionary tale.  This is what happens when a person loses control of life, tries to live a life others consider to be right and fails, and then has to self-medicate to try and forget that failure. 

I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Review: Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

I liked this book quite a bit, which isn't that much of a surprise, being that I've liked everything I've read by Susanna Kearsley.  It did take me a while to get through this book, which was a bit frustrating.  I think part of the reason it took me so long to read was because I started it right before school started up again, so I was busy finishing up my summer errands and getting ready to return to the classroom.  Also, I felt like not a whole lot happened until about halfway through the book.  I felt like I was still being introduced to the characters and setting and realized I was almost at 50%, according to my kindle.

However, I did still enjoy the book, not everything needs to be a fast paced, can't-finish-quick-enough, thriller.

As is often the case with Kearsley's books, the setting is described beautifully. This book takes place at a villa in Italy with a lot of history and ghosts lingering on the villa's grounds.  There are quite a few interesting characters inhabiting these grounds.

Alex, the owner of the villa has decided to stage a play - one written by his grandfather many years earlier.  The play was never performed because the woman for which it was written - his grandfather's lover - died before the play opened.

Celia Sands, a young actress from London, has been offered the starring role, and just so happens to have the same name - though no relation - to the original actress cast for the part, many years earlier.

Rupert, the man who raised her is directing the play, and looking forward to spending time with Celia and directing her in her first starring role.  However, he seems a bit annoyed with the choice of stage manager, which is confusing to Celia as she tries to figure out what kind of history the two men have.

Then there's Madeline, an older actress, with whom Celia has a vague connection, clouded with her own guilt over what she feels was her role in breaking up Madeline's marriage.

Those are just a few of the characters.  There are plenty of others to round out the story, but no need give it all away in this review.  The mix of these people all in one place, working together to put on this "impossible" play makes for a very engaging story.  Maybe I took so long to read the book because I liked being around the characters and felt no rush to get away from them.

I was also pleasantly surprised that I was wrong in thinking I already knew what one of the big secrets was.  At one point, it seemed obvious to me, only later to discover that wasn't the case at all. I like it when the mysteries are not obvious.

Anyway, I enjoyed this book.  I'd recommend it to anyone who likes Kearsley's other books, enjoys a well written story with a bit of history, a touch of supernatural elements and some romance.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: Expose Me by Kate Hewitt

The Fifth Avenue trilogy were some of my favorite books from this summer, but Expose Me, the last book, was probably the one I liked the least.  Keep in mind though, I really, really loved the first two books.

I never felt the same kind of chemistry between the characters - Alex and Chelsea - that existed in the other books in this trilogy.  I didn't like them as much.  I felt like they tried too hard to be mean to each other, too hard to avoid getting involved.  To some extent that's expected, but it went too far.  To the point where I was thinking, why even bother?  Also because the character is named Chelsea in this book, and she's the host of a TV show, I kept imagining Chelsea Handler in this role.

It's been a few months since I read the book, and don't remember the details all that well.  I still enjoyed the book and am probably being too harsh in comparing it to the other two books in the trilogy.

But the important part of this book was bringing down Jason Treffen, the man responsible for the death of one of Alex's friends.  This book provides the conclusion of what has been building up over the first two books.  To some extent, the romance is secondary to these two characters completing this task.  Alex has to convince Chelsea to assist in bringing down this man who has destroyed so many lives.  This is a big part of the story, because Chelsea doesn't want to do anything that might harm her career - at the same time, she realizes this could be the kind of story that might make her career.

This is such a great trilogy, I highly recommend it - all three of the books provide some great reading entertainment.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Read: May 4, 2014

Review: Fanning the Flames by Victoria Dahl

Victoria Dahl is one of those writers whose work I started reading because she's one of my favorite people to follow on twitter.  Seems like a really cool person, and in turn, that makes me want to read her books.  So far, I've very much enjoyed what I've read of hers. 

  

I remember last summer, she mentioned writing a story about a librarian who watched the firefighter next door running each day.  I was looking forward to that story because, well, my library shares a parking lot with a fire department and there are many jokes in my life regarding going to pick up books/check out the firemen.  Of course, I don't really do that.  But still, funny, right? Whatever.   However, I was a little disappointed that this wasn't a full length story.  And because it was so short, the romance felt a bit rushed.  I usually like a little more of people getting to know each other, more of a build  up.  I guess we are informed that these two people have known each other for a while, so it isn't as if they just met and fell for each other.  They do know each other, which was one of the obstacles in their relationship.  He'd been friends with her ex-husband and she had known his wife before she died.  

One of the reasons I may not have loved this story was because the main characters are older.  Absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it isn't something to which I can relate - being older and having kids and former spouses and such.  These aren't topics that resonate with me at all.   The older part, yes, to some extent, but that's it.  

As for their story, Lauren is a librarian who, despite always being attracted to Jake, has never acted on that attraction.  But she gets talked into going out with her co-workers one night, and he's there.  And he seems quite interested in her.  As you might imagine, the two finally give into their attraction to each other.  

I still liked the story, just not as much as I usually like Dahl's books.  At about 61 pages, it's perfect for a quick, sexy read.  And it's set in Jackson, the beginning of the Girls' Night Out series, and I loved the first book in that series, Looking for Trouble.  Some of the same characters are mentioned, making this well worth reading to know what's happening with everyone involved.

I received a review copy via NetGalley.

Review: A Wedding in Provence by Ellen Sussman

I decided to read this while I was travelling this summer.  I like to read books that are set in the places I'm visiting while I'm there.  I started this while in France, visiting chateaux in the Loire Valley - so not exactly Provence, but the same country.

I read most of this book while on the train from Paris to Brussels, then Brussels to Bruges and back, and then Brussels to London.  It's an okay book, didn't love it, didn't hate it.  Sometimes those are the most difficult to review.

This is the story about an older couple going to Provence to get married at a friend's bed & breakfast.  The scenery is beautiful, but the people gathered for the wedding aren't feeling so fairy tale like.

There isn't anything too dramatic or horrible,  just a typical family drama.  Two sisters, one good with her act together, the other something of an irresponsible bad girl.  The irresponsible daughter shows up at the wedding with a guy she met on the plane.  The good daughter shows up alone, her boyfriend finding an excuse to avoid the trip.  Somewhere along the way the good daughter decides she's tired of being good and the bad daughter is forced to behave responsibly.  I found it a bit of a stretch to assume that their entire personalities were transformed based on the events of one weekend, but this is why it's fiction.

I didn't feel any strong connection to the characters.  In fact, I kind of disliked the couple getting married.  The mom especially seemed like a rather unpleasant person, and I don't think that was the intention.  I didn't ever get the feeling that this couple had some great love that was going to solve all their other problems.  The couple I liked more was the one running the Bed & Breakfast, despite their problems, they seemed genuine.

Overall, the book was okay.  A fairly quick read, it held my interest and did well to pass all the time I spent on trains.

I received a review copy via NetGalley.