Midweek Review

Indecent by Corinne Sullivan

Publication Date – March 6, 2018

4 stars

Imogene starts her teaching apprenticeship at an elite boy’s boarding school with many ideas about what she wants the experience to be like but when she starts an illicit relationship with a senior student, her whole life begins a downward spiral.  Imogene is quite possibly one of the most fascinating and fleshed-out characters that I have ever read.  Being inside her head and witnessing her insecurities, anxiety and self-doubt feels realistic and I found parts (only parts) of myself and other women in her thoughts processes.  My one (pretty big) complaint is in how this book is marketed.  I actually read through some other reader reviews before finishing it, which is something I rarely do, to see if others noticed this glaring discrepancy and it was definitely mentioned.  This book, at least in galley form, has a pink cover with big red lips and is marketed as sexy.   Instead this is a psychological novel about a troubled, insecure and probably mentally ill young woman who embarks on a disturbing and obsessive relationship.   This is a really good novel but if you are looking for a light read, this is not it.  I received an advanced copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.  

Politics

Global Discontents:  Conversations on the Rising Threats to Democracy

By Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian

5 stars

David Barsamian interviewed Noam Chomsky over a period of years starting in 2013 and through 2017.  Definitely, this was a time of upheaval and strangeness in U.S. politics and it was fascinating to get Chomsky’s take on everything.  I read some of Chomsky’s work while a college student but I think the interview format made for digestible chunks of information and opinion.  While the hard truths and depressing pronouncements gave me a perpetual stomach ache during the course of reading it, I do think that his knowledge of past and current international politics should be read.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Gothic Castle

The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen

Publication Date – March 6, 2018

4 stars

This is a wonderfully atmospheric Gothic story about a medieval Irish castle and the tragic stories of its inhabitants.   Changing perspectives of members of the Gallagher family of differing generations, this book moves quickly and is very easy to read.    With a good mystery and just enough ghosts, this is a great novel to read on a dark, rainy spring night.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Weekend Reading

Iced In: Ten Days Trapped on the Edge of Antarctica by Chris Turney

3 stars

Chris Turney helped lead an Australian expedition of scientists, volunteers and his family to the Antarctic Commonwealth Bay to conduct research on the nearby B9B iceberg and the effect it is having on the east side of the continent.  Interspersed with accounts of the famed Shackleton expedition, this book mixes present day adventure with tales from the past.  The most eye-opening parts of this book have to do with the effects of climate change and how it has already affected the continent.  Since Turney is a scientist, I wish more of the book had pertained to these findings.  It is also jarring, the differences between the two expeditions and their prospective dangers.  The peril that Shackleton and his contemporaries faced makes Turney’s ten days stuck in the ice, while also precarious, seem fairly light in comparison.   I did enjoy this book, though, and gives a really great glimpse of a continent most of us will never visit.  I receive a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice by Khizr Khan

4 stars

This is a really well written memoir, one that gives great insight into the decisions and difficulties that go into immigrating to the United States all while providing a gentle reminder of the inherent goodness in most Americans toward strangers.  Khan became something of a political figure when he spoke about his son, who died while serving in Iraq, at the Democratic National Convention.  He is a proud American, one who knows the Constitution better than many politicians and he speaks about his experiences with hope and great wisdom.  I am glad that I read this memoir and wish that more would pick it up.  I am fortunate to have receive a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Review

The Infernal Library: On Dictators, the Books They Wrote, and Other Catastrophes of Literacy

By Daniel Kalder

3.5 stars

Almost all the awful dictators wrote at least one equally awful book all about their own beliefs, and this book sums them all up with a healthy dose of sarcasm.  Including Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Mao and all of the other despots that they beget, Kalder discusses the literary works (including some strange fiction) that these men left behind.  The dark humor of this book does help temper the depressing details and overall it provides a good history behind the writing of these books.  I will say that it gets repetitive as these dictators are all really very similar but I did come away learning some details that I didn’t already know.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Personal Exploration of Mental Illness

The Kevin Show: An Olympic Athlete’s Battle with Mental Illness by Mary Pilon

Publication Date – March 6, 2018

3 stars

Kevin Hall was a champion sailor from a young age and even went on to sail at Brown and in the Olympics.  As a college student, he had his first experience on the show, and interesting effect of bipolar disorder that gives him delusions of appearing on his own reality television show.  This is a fascinating exploration of a person living with and becoming a successful athlete with a mental illness.  At times it did seem repetitive and could have been a little shorter, but it did a good job of humanizing someone living with bipolar disorder.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Friday Review

The Gospel of Trees:  A Memoir by Apricot Irving
Publication Date: March 6, 2018

4 stars

 

The author, Apricot Irving, spend many of her childhood years living in Haiti with her missionary parents.  Her father, an agronomist trying to re-forest the island, was strict, tireless and by her own admission had a “savior complex.”  Her memoir is an engaging mix of rapture about the beauty of Haiti and warnings about the danger of trying to rescue another nation.  I thought this book really well done and while it ran a little long in the end, it offers a personal perspective about the good and bad consequences of missionary work in developing countries.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Upcoming Historical Romance Round Up for Valentine's Day

*I spent the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day reading LOTS of historical romance.  Here are my favorites coming out in the next month.

A Duke in the Night by Kelly Bowen
Publication Date - 2/20
3.5 stars



Clara is the intelligent, independent headmistress of a school for society's best girls.  Her eccentric family's deepening debt has caused her to sell her school to one man whose interest in profit far outweighs his commitment to Clara's feminist teachings.  August has dug his family out of the debt left by his wastrel father to amass a proper ducal empire.  When his interests intersect with Clara and her family, there is antagonism and chemistry. The second half of this book is much better than the first and Clara is a really well developed heroine.  Kelly Bowen is one of my favorite romance authors and while this is not my favorite of her books, it is definitely a great set-up for a series composed of exciting new characters.  Received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


A Dream of Redemption by Bronwen Evans
Publication Date - 2/20
3 stars



Lady Helen and Clary Homeward are a mismatched couple, she a naïve debutante and him with a bleak and heartbreaking past, but this is a short sweet romance.  I do wish that Lady Helen had more personality and the friendship could have developed more at first but Bronwen Evans is a consistently good romance author and one I will continue to read.  Received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


No Earls Allowed by Shana Galen
Publication Date - 3/6
4 stars



I absolutely love Shana Galen's historical romance novels and always enjoy the humor, chemistry and witty dialogue of her characters.  I wish that she hadn't used the much overused "heroine whose only concern is the orphanage" plot that I have really read way too much of lately, but she did manage to add some new elements.  I like both Julia and Neil and am really way too excited for Rafe's book which is coming out next.  Received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


A Rogue of Her Own by Grace Burrowes
Publication Date - 3/6
3.5 stars



Burrowes writing reminds me of old timey romance authors like Georgette Heyer (with maybe a it more spice) with lots of details about daily activities, work projects and life behind the scenes.  The Windham family series is sprawling and very detailed so it helps to read at least some of the preceding novels.  I liked Lucas Sherbourne a lot but I did feel that the character of Charlotte was a bit too perfect and needed a bit more humor. Overall, this is a good addition to the series.  Received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review .


Lost to a Spy by Sharon Cullen
Publication Date - 3/13
4 stars



The Elizabethan time period makes for a nice change in this series of spy novels and Sharon Cullen hardly ever disappoints.  Emma is one of Queen Mary of Scotland's confidants when she is a bystander to a gruesome murder.  Tristan is an English spy posing as a printer when he rescues the unconscious Emma and takes her back to his shop. I like the historical backstory and the characters are well developed and interesting.  This is a really good series to read if you want a change from the typical Regency and Victorian time table.  Received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

To Infinity and Beyond

The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond

By Michio Kaku

Publication Date: February 28, 2018

5 stars

There is really no need to summarize this book as the subtitle pretty much says it all.  I will say that I found this book incredibly accessible and completely fascinating.  I’m pretty sure I learned more about space travel in this one book than I have in the preceding years of my life.  Kaku’s format of using straightforward language and pop-culture references causes this book to never be boring and for me to feel completely over confident in my knowledge of physics and astronomy.  I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.   

Love in Thin Air

Leaving Everest by Megan Westfield

4 stars

Emily and Luke have been friends for years as their lives on the Himalayan climbing scene have intersected.  Now after a two year separation, they are working together as guides on an Everest expedition all while reconciling their feelings for each other and dealing with their respective pasts.  As a reader of several non-fiction Everest books, I felt this was done really well.  The climbs were realistic and adventurous and added an exciting aspect to the romance.  Aside from some repetitious descriptors, I think this is definitely one of the better New Adult romances that I have read.  I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Weekend Review

Limits of the Known by David Roberts

Publication Date – February 20, 2018

3.5 stars

David Roberts has written many books on his own mountaineering exploits and on other adventurers, such as himself, who have blazed new ground.  This collection covers some of those adventurers while also interspersing with his own stories and his current battle with stage four throat cancer.  I have a hard time coming down too harshly on this book because it is obviously a labor of love from someone who is facing his own mortality but I do have to admit at times I found myself losing interest.  Maybe it is because I wanted more about his own adventures, of which there are many, but I found myself getting bored with the intricate details of the history of these explorers.  I do think that it lays out the present difficulty of exploration in our age of constant communication and GPS and those are the parts that I found most interesting.  Overall, this is a solid history of the plight of the adventurer through the ages.  I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Friday Review

White Houses by Amy Bloom

Publication Date – February 13, 2018

3 stars

Lorena Hickok picked herself up from her meager South Dakota origins to become a respected journalist during the Great Depression.  Her job put her in the orbit of the Roosevelts and it is her close and possibly romantic relationship with Eleanor that serves as the basis for this novel.  Amy Bloom creates a love story between the two that is realistic and as she states in the Author’s Note, it is also a labor of love for her.  I came into this excited about the premise and interested in reading more about these dynamic women, but had a hard time with the writing style which is scattered.  I would have personally enjoyed it more if it had delved a little deeper into the relationship between these women but it did provide a glimpse into a very intriguing White House and spurred my own deeper research.  I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  

Seeking an Education

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Publication Date – February 20, 2017

5 stars

The author grew up in a survivalist, fundamentalist household with parents that shied away from public schools and any sort of medical assistance.  The Idaho mountain that she lived by serves as the backdrop for an unusual upbringing that is eccentric and often heartbreaking.  At sixteen, she decides to go to college where she discovers just how strangely and incompletely she has been educated.  Once I started reading this book I didn’t want it to end, which is unusual for a memoir.  I felt that the author, legitimately, has a lot to say on upbringing, family and what it means to seek an education.  It is being compared to The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and I believe that is an apt comparison.  I suspect this will end up being one of my favorite books of 2018.  I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.