Mid-Week Reviews - September 29, 2016

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
4 stars




After World War I, Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol Hotel for being an aristocrat during the Communist revolution.  This book follows the Count's life from his sentencing in his early thirties throughout most of his life.  He comes to accept his life in the hotel and even to find comfort in his routine, the splendor of the hotel and the close companions that he has come to know.  This is the kind of slow novel that it is almost impossible to read quickly.  There is almost no action and most of the plot centers on daily interactions but the beautiful prose, witty dialogue and charming relationships kept me reading.  At times the slowness of the book competes with the quickly passing years to make the pacing uneven but the reader that sticks to it, will be richly rewarded with a wonderful story of one man's life.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 



Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day
By Joel Selvin
4.5 stars



After the summer of 1969, after the success of Woodstock and the rise of the San Francisco music scene, the Rolling Stones decided to join the scene.  After an American tour, the had the idea of a free San Francisco concern that the likes of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane had enjoyed.  As most people know, the concert at the Altamont Speedway was a violent, deadly disaster the changed the lives of all involved.  After the release of the documentary, Gimme Shelter, the story of the concert was told or so it seemed.  Joel Selvin recreates the weeks leading up to the event and details the disastrous day in much detail.  This was a time when the free spirited pursuit of drugs and rock music was beginning to turn sour and the free-spirited hippie culture was already beginning to change.  Once I stopped trying to keep perfect track of all the people, this became an entrancing true story of the utter madness, ego and disorganization behind this event.  With everyone strung out on every kind of drug imaginable, its no wonder that no one was really in charge but of course the story is a lot more complicated than that and the author builds up to the event with an impressing foreboding that made the book incredibly hard to put down.  I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Weekend Reading - September 26, 2016

Known and Strange Things by Teju Cole
4 stars



Essay collections, in general, I find really hard to review.  While all of these were beautifully written, I thought some were definitely more interesting than others (which happens when a collection is put together).  There was a common theme of passion; reading, photography and travel.  While I mostly loved the reading and travel sections, I skimmed some of the photography.  I would recommend keeping this collection on your bedside and dipping into it after a long day as it is very calming.  This is a well known, highly esteemed author and the essay collection reflect that well.  I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sisters! - September 23, 2016

The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson
3 stars



The Mitford sisters were England's precursor to the Kardashians but with much higher stakes.  During the 1940's, Diana and Unity were fierce Fascists, Jessica was a committed Communist, Deborah was the duchess and Nancy put it all in writing.  This is not the first book that I have read about the family, which helped immensely while reading this book.  The author chooses loose chronology that skips between sisters, often so quickly that it takes a minute to catch up.  She also frequently compares episodes from real life to Nancy's books which takes away from the overall flow of the events.  Fortunately, this family is so fascinating that even poorly organized books are interesting.  I still enjoyed reading about their exploits but I do understand why some may give up on the presentation of the information.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Rapid Romance Wrap-Up - September 20, 2016

Highland Heat (Highland Knights #1) by Jennifer Haymore
4 stars



Grace and Duncan meet on the field at Waterloo, right after the infamous battle.  Duncan is injured and Grace is there to help with the injured.  Right away there are sparks and the characters just sparkle with chemistry and kindness.  Grace is the eldest daughter of an Earl and Duncan is a Scottish commoner so the obstacles to their romance are realistic without being unnecessarily angst-ridden.  This is a historically interesting romance about two likable characters.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 





Highland Temptation (Highland Knights #3) by Jennifer Haymore
3.5 stars



Colin and Emilia first meet in a prior book in the series when Colin is assigned to guard her father.  Colin is suspicious that the Earl is abusing his daughter and is offered proof when she appears on Highland Knights doorstep severely beaten.  Colin feels like his is the only one that should protect the young woman even though he is suffering from PTSD following the battle of Waterloo.  This book had a good amount of action and moved along quickly.  The two characters were likable and had good chemistry.  I will say that the idea of the Highland Knights is interesting but the fact that all their wives live with them and just kind of spend the day hanging out together seems out of place for the time.  Maybe I'm wrong but it did detract a bit from the story.  Otherwise this is a good addition to the series.  Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.



My Brown-Eyed Earl (The Wayward Wallflowers #1) b y Anna Bennett
Publication Date - October 4, 2016
4 stars



Several years ago, Meg spurned Will (a current Earl) in the worst (and funniest) way so it surprises both of them when she ends up interviewing for the position of governess to his two new wards.  There is good chemistry between these two characters with lots of witty and humorous dialogue.  They had a good back story and  between the twins highjinx and the steamy romance, the book moves along very nicely.  I look forward to future books in this series.  Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 



Miss Goodhue Lives for a Night (Winner Takes All, #2.5) by Kate Noble
Publication Date - September 19, 2016
3 stars



Cecelia Goodhue is living with her sister and serving as a school teacher when she received a letter that her cousin has disappeared with an officer.  Not wanting her cousin to make the same mistake she did many years ago, she travels to London to search for them.  Theo was hired to help Cecelia search and is surprised to discover she is the woman with whom he almost eloped.  I love the humor in Kate Noble's writing about the comedy of the time's social niceties.  I didn't feel like this short book had much depth, though, and while the characters and back story were fine, there just wasn't a whole lot of substance.  That said, I will continue to read Noble's books because I find her writing style and storylines interesting.   Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Lured In (Fishing for Trouble, #2) by Laura Dreary
Publication Date - September 27, 2016
3 stars



I will start this by saying that I am not always the biggest fan of contemporary romance which may color my review in some ways.  This short book follows Jessie and Finn as they navigate the process of going from best-friends to lovers.  I usually enjoy the friends to romance storyline and I did find this book fun to read, however, there were some weird plot developments that seemed thrown in just to add more angst.  I probably won't read the rest of the series but I am glad I gave contemporary romance another chance.  Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Review - September 16, 2016

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva
3 stars



The premise of this novel is fantastic.  A group of individuals join a reality show which forces them into the woods and into situations created to demonstrate their survival skills.  Meanwhile,  a devastating occurrence changes the society they left.  I'm trying to stay away from spoilers while stressing how interesting I found this plot which examines the absurdity of reality television while also providing a post-apocalyptic background.  The writing was even really good but to be perfectly honest, I almost abandoned this novel many times during the first two-thirds, or at least considered skimming because the main character was so infuriatingly delusional that I felt like throwing my book across the room.  Admittedly, this was explained pretty well at the end but for me it would have been a much better book without her ignorance of what was actually going on around her being such a strong focus.  So while I still thought the premise itself was great, I have a hard time rating a book too high that made me so crazy.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Ivy League Life - September 13, 2016

Loner by Teddy Wayne
3.5 stars



David Federman has never been one of school's social successes but fortunately his hidden intelligence has gotten him into the pinnacle of social settings, Harvard, and he plans to change his role in the world...except that he has fallen into his normal group of social misfits.  Then a young woman enters into the picture that cause him to focus all his efforts on her and her privileged group of friends.  As he becomes more obsessed, his methods become more stalker-like and you begin to realize that it cannot end well.  This book is told in David's voice as if he is writing a book to Veronica, which makes it hard to know if you are supposed to sympathize with his plight or be completely creeped out (I was both).  So, while I did enjoy this novel, I also felt strange about enjoying it which created a weird reading experience.  I really liked Teddy Wayne's first novel The Love Song of Jonny Valentine and this has some of that biting, sarcastic humor but maybe not as much of the charm.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Weekly Romance Review - September 10, 2016

The Earl's Return by Callie Hutton
3.5 stars

This is good addition to a series following the romantic exploits of one family.  I have enjoyed each one that I have read and this is no exception.  The Earl of Redgrave abandoned his fiancé, Abigail, two weeks before the wedding by eloping with another woman.  After the death of his wife, he returns to London years later in search of a new one.  Abigail is already happily married but her sister, Mary, is going through the London season once again hoping to find the same love as her siblings.  The two meet early in the season and find an instant connection but have to overcome a huge familial prejudice against the match.  I think this had a great back story and Mary is a great character.  It did bother me how Redgrave did not always have much backbone and let one man really control the direction of his life for no real reason which seems farfetched.  Otherwise this is another enjoyable book in this series.  I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Review - September 9, 2016

Home Field by Hannah Gersen
3.5 stars





Before this book even begins in earnest, the reader learns that Nicole has committed suicide, leaving her husband and three children grief-stricken and confused.  What follows is an exploration of sadness, love and the importance of family.  This is a slow moving, quiet novel and works well as a depiction of family in despair.  It does focus so much on family that all side characters are not well explored and even the small town where they live is often alluded to but never fully developed which I found to be frustrating at times.  That said, I thought the familial relationships were fully explored and I found myself rooting for them all to come through their sorrow in the end.  I received this book through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.

Surviving the Apocolypse - September 6, 2016

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis
4 stars



Elka knows little of her life before the age of seven, when she began to live with a mysterious man known to her as Trapper.  He taught her how to survive in the gritty, post apocalyptical world and she secretly considers him her daddy, until one day she see his face on a poster wanted for a string of murders including the young son of a dangerous and violent Marshall.  This book follows Elka as she attempts to outrun both Trapper and the law.  Her survival instincts serve her well in the wild but when it comes to humans, she has to rely upon poorly formed instincts.  Incredibly dark, grisly and eerily desolate, this is not an easy book to read.  It is beautifully written with mesmerizing descriptions of lush wildlife and desperate towns but I had a hard time finding any hopefulness in this novel.  Towards the end I was ready to leave the awfulness of this world. Overall, it is a great book but not always my favorite reading experience... if that makes sense.  I received this book from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Romance Review - September 2, 2016

As Rich As A Rogue by Jade Lee
3.5 stars



Lord Whitley has returned to England determined to marry the woman he sparred with six years ago.  Mari only remembers the haughty Earl that left her with a reputation for being the Wayward Welsh and extinguishing her hopes of a marriage.  I enjoyed this historical romance and the characters were fun with a good sense of humor.  It did occasionally cross into ludicrous territory with silly reasons for Mari not accepting Peter that took away a bit from the romance but overall it was a fun read.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

One Insane Ride - September 2, 2016

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
5 stars



I finished this book about a half hour ago and I'm not quite sure that is enough time to process what I just read.  This is one crazy, insane, intense and interesting book.  Jason Dessen ventures out one night from his warm family home to celebrate the achievements of a friend, when he is kidnapped and taken to an abandoned building on the South Side of Chicago.  He is injected with a drug and when he awakens he is the same person, but everyone else knows him as someone else.  That's all I'm going to say about the plot, because this is a really, really fascinating book.  I never knew what was going to happen from one point to another and I am going to be mulling this one over for a long, long, long time.  Now, I am just eagerly awaiting the movie because if this is not made into a movie it would be a travesty.  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. 

The Writing Life - September 1, 2016

Process:  The Writing Lives of Great Authors by Sarah Stodola
4 stars



Sarah Stodola has mined the expanse of author biography to come up with a definitive book about the writing process for different authors through different times.  Varying from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, David Foster Wallace to Zadie Smith, amongst many more, this book is divided into section on differing work habits.  There are writers who treat the process like a 9 to 5 job, those who take their time and those who place themselves inside their stories.  I really enjoyed this collection but I have to say that the current writers were the most interesting as so much has already been said about the likes of Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Woolf that this book didn't add much new information.  All in all this is a great book for readers and writers alike.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.