Classic Women-- March 31, 2015

Re Jane by Patricia Park
Pub Date - May 5, 2015
4.5 stars



Loosely following Jane Eyre, this novel explores family, work, relationships, the immigrant experience and life in New York during the years around September 11.  Jane Re is Korean-American and lives a restricted life with her uncle in Queens.  She has lost her first position post college with a financial firm and decides to become a nanny to an adopted Chinese girl and her strange family in Brooklyn.  The characters are all richly developed and even ones that seem like caricature are more fully fleshed out by the end.  Once I started this, I found it hard to put down and I thought it was a really good book.  I received an electronic galley of this novel in exchange for an honest review. 


The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg
Pub Date - April 7, 2015
3 stars



Usually I love historical fiction about writers but this one didn't quite connect with me as much as I hoped it would. George Sand was an early feminist writer who left her unhappy marriage in order to live an unusual and bohemian lifestyle in Paris with other artists and writers.  This novel is beautifully written but I found this iteration of George Sand to be frustrating and somewhat annoying.  I found myself skimming portions that seemed to go on and on about how she needed real love.  So while I did enjoy the writing and scenes of nineteenth century Paris, I sometimes found myself aggravated by the main character.  I received an electronic galley of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Romantic Interlude March 26, 2015

A Good Rake is Hard to Find by Mandan Collins
Pub Date:  March 31, 2015
3.5 stars



Leonara's brother Jonathan was killed in a suspicious cure icule racing incident and Leonara decides to find out exactly what happened.  In order to do so, she enlists the help of her former fiancé to join a racing club hysterically called the Lords of Anarchy.  Frederick, her former fiancé,  was devastated when Leonara broke off their engagement and spent the following years behaving badly on the continent.  He's recently returned and ready to accept Leonara back into his life.  The couple are a good fit and make a good team.  There is not much angst in this book and that is both a good and bad thing because while it makes the couple more palatable, it also took away from the romance.  I also found the hero a bit bland and while he is perfectly nice and respectful, he's also just a bit boring.  This is a nice book to settle into especially if you are in the mood for a cozy story of a couple working together.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Twisted Tuesday - March 24, 2015

What You Left Behind by Samantha Hayes
3.5 stars



This is an incredibly creepy book with nice twists that I didn't necessarily see coming until near the very end.  The author does a great job with the psychology behind these motives with multiple characters dealing with the kinds of issues to induce numerous kinds of violence.  The switching perspectives was done well and added to the creepiness factor.  My main issue with this book is that the characters (almost all of them) made infuriatingly terrible decisions.  I was so frustrated that I at one time almost abandoned the book altogether.  Fortunately, I stuck with it because there were some reveals that surprised me at the end.  This is not the first book in this series about Detective Lorraine Fisher which didn't necessarily bother me but series purists might want to start with the first book.  Overall, it was an interesting if sometimes frustrating mystery/thriller.  I received this book from a LibraryThing giveaway.

Epic Fantasy - March 23, 2015

An Ember in the Ashes. By Sabaa Tahir
Pub Date: April 28, 2015
4 Stars



This is a gritty fantasy with interesting characters and a lot of action.  Laia is a Scholar, one of the underclass in the empire, who is determined to rescue her brother when he is arrested by the ruling Martials.  She is often scared and unsure of herself but asserts her bravery when needed.  Elias comes from one of the top families in the Empire and is training to become a Mask, one of the horrific soldiers who wear metal masks melded into their faces.  He questions everything that he has been taught and is forced to make horrible decisions.  I really liked the characters and the set-up of this book.  I will say that this book works better as the first in the series rather than a stand-alone.  I don't feel as if the world has been sufficiently described and the ending was not entirely satisfying... it left a lot of room for further books.  If this book becomes a series than I am completely on board but if it remains a stand-alone novel than I have a feeling I might forget it rather quickly.  I received an electronic review copy of this book from the Penguin First to Read program in exchange for an honest review. 

The Problem with Pools - March 23, 2015

Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld and the Truth Beyond BlackishBy John Hargrove
Pub Date: March 24, 2015
4 stars



The question of Orca's in captivity has always been a no-brainer for me.  Does anyone really think that 5000-8000 pound marine animals are happy and healthy in glorified swimming pools?  Um... no.  So, I was in turns mesmerized and horrified by the documentary Blackfish and I thought the addition of career Orca trainers added much authenticity to some of its claims.  John Hargrove was one of the trainers interviewed for the documentary and this book is a memoir about his decades long career working with the Killer Whales at SeaWorld.  I found this to be an extremely forthright and honest book.  This is someone who worked daily with these whales and spent most of his career as an advocate and defender of the SeaWorld corporation.  His passion for training whales began young and I found his single-minded dedication to this career fascinating.  He notes that his change of heart towards SeaWorld began gradually but he publicly began to speak out after he left SeaWorld after multiple training injuries. SeaWorld has tried to discredit him as a disgruntled former employee but I think he does a good job to quell that criticism here. 

This is not an incredibly well written book and there are some strange repetitions but the message still comes out strong and that is really the point of a book such as this.  If you liked the documentary Blackfish, than this is definitely a good book to pursue next. I received an electronic galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Teleportation Thursday - March 19, 2015

The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa
3 stars



Every night Ember teleports for the first ten minutes of her sleep.  During this time she has ended up naked in a crush's bedroom, humiliated herself in all sort's of situations and has been forced to commit crimes.  She has kept this strange secret for five years until one day the government shows up at her house and forced her into a special army.  She is forced into a pair with the good -looking Caden and trained to be a secret weapon.  While overall I enjoyed this book, there are some problems with character development.  Many times Ember's personality is discussed by herself and others but her actions don't really back it up.  Some of the dialogue is pretty cheesy and there is a lot of telling instead of showing, however,  I found the premise of this book intriguing and am interested enough in the plot to have already downloaded the next book in the series.  I received an eArc of this book through NetGalley but also won a physical copy through a Goodreads giveaway.

Fashionable in Paris - March 14, 2015

One last review before Spring Vacation!

My Paris Dream by Kate Betts (received via NetGalley)
Pub date:  May 12, 2015
4 stars




As a new graduate from Princeton, Kate Betts decided to fulfill her dream to live and work in Paris.  During the next few years, she worked her way through a position at Women's Wear Daily and discovered a very real passion for fashion and everything Parisian.  This is not a story of a young woman trying to physically survive in Paris as she had money and connection galore (a fact in which she if very upfront) but of a young girl trying to find her place in a foreign culture.  I only spent a short time in Paris but can perfectly recognize it from Betts writing, which is beautiful and evocative.  Even though I personally have no interest in fashion, I enjoyed her anecdotes of the famous designers of the time and the ways fashion trends have changed.   This book is also a wonderful account of a successful and varied career and how passions can change over the years.  This is a short, easy to read memoir that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I received an electronic galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Review Catch-up - March 11, 2015

I have finished a couple of books during the first part of the week.  Here is a short recap of my thoughts.

The Republic of Imagination by Azar Nafisi (received via NetGalley)
3.5 stars



I definitely liked the ideas behind this book and Azar Nafisi really had some profound things to say about the act of reading.  She looks at three America classics; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Bobbitt, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and how they capture the American experience.  The author also uses her own experience becoming an American citizen and sprinkles in some stories of her teaching in Iran.  Some parts of this book are extremely dry and almost boring while other parts I couldn't stop reading.  So while this was an uneven read for me, I would still recommend picking it up.  I received an electronic Galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Lucky Alan by Jonathan Lethem (received via Edelweiss)
3 stars



I have read Jonathan Lethem's fiction and nonfiction and mostly enjoyed all it.  I am a bit more torn about this story collection.  I genuinely liked a couple but the rest, I didn't really connect with.  The title story "Lucky Alan" has interesting characters and I found "The King of Sentences" strangely funny.  Overall, I enjoyed some of these stories and skimmed others.  I received an electronic Galley of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. 

Tales of a Family - March 12, 2015

Bonita Avenue by Peter Buwalda (received via Blogging for Books)
3.5 stars



Hmmm... this was a strange book about a strange family with strange problems, and yet I couldn't stop reading it...and it is LONG.  Siem Sigerius is a prominent mathematician and university rector with two daughters, a doting wife and a complicated past.  This novel blurs the line between past and present and it is confusing at the beginning but once I got used to the different narrators and time periods I flew through this book.  There really are no truly likable characters and that did somewhat take away from my overall enjoyment and the ending is just bizarre but I still found the reading this strangely addicting.  I received a copy of this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.

Friday Wrap-Up - March 6, 2015

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (received via NetGalley)
4 stars



It took me a while to get to this one, with all the hype and big name comparisons I just couldn't get excited, but this ended up taking me by surprise.  It centers on two characters, Violet and Finch, and their relationship.  Both seniors in high school contemplating their futures while dealing with grief, bullying and mental illness.  I thought this dealt with those issues pretty realistically and there was enough humor to keep the novel from getting too dark.  This was such a beautifully written and interesting young adult book that I almost wish it wasn't so similar in plot structure to other recent novels, however I would still highly recommend it and I am definitely curious to see how this will be portrayed in the movie version.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (received through NetGalley)
3 stars



Once again dipping into the life of the magical Waverly family, this book explores their lives 10 years after the events of Garden Spells.  I didn't quite enjoy this book as much as Garden Spells as there didn't seem to be as much happening in the story.  However, it was nice to be in this world again and as usual I enjoyed the characters and magical world that Sarah Addison Allen creates.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Friendship and Murder - March 5, 2015

Visiting Hours: A Memoir of Friendship and Murder by Amy Butcher (received via Penguin's First to Read Program)
1.5 Stars



I have been debating all morning how to honestly, yet kindly, rate and review this book but the truth is that I just did not like it.  One night, the author was walked home by her friend Kevin and had surprisingly discovered the next day that he had then violently murdered his ex-girlfriend.  I understand how this would affect someone, which is why I picked it up in the first place but the way the author turned this tragic event into her own memoir is disturbing and strange.  I added half a star because at times she does seem to honestly admit that her connection to the whole situation is tenuous but that doesn't stop her obsessive behavior towards those actually involved.  I received this book from Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for an honest review. 

Girl Underwater by Claire Kells - March 3, 2015

Girl Underwater by Claire Kelli (received via Penguin First to Read)
Pub. Date: March 31, 2015
3.5 Stars



I am still not sure how to rate this book.  On one hand, I really enjoyed the story of a plane crash survivor who is dealing with the aftermath a but on the other hand I thought this story was rushed and even vague at times.  Avery is a college swimmer who transformed herself in order to fit into the team.  Colin is the one person that wants her to be herself and for that reason she always avoided him... until they end up on the same flight home to Boston.  The plane crashes into the Rocky Mountains and Avery, Colin and three young boys are the only survivors.  The book is divided into chapters that alternate between their time trying to survive in the midst of a snowstorm immediately following the crash and the month of recovery after they are found.  There is definitely a stronger focus on the after and not much on the actual plane crash itself.  I thought that the chapters dealing with recovery and PTSD were well written and intense but because the time in the mountains was so rushed, it lost some of its importance and seemed unaccountably angsty at times.  This is one of those instances that I really would have liked a longer book with more details.  The romance was sweet but Colin and Avery's past was so vague that I didn't feel a real reason for her avoidance of him so therefore didn't feel as invested.  Overall though, this was an enjoyable book and an interesting story.  I received this book from Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for an honest review.