Saturday, July 30, 2016

Party of One by Dave Holmes- Book Review

I was just past the age for MTV when Dave Holmes became part of the VJ team, so I kind of knew who he was, but he wasn't a huge part of my growing up as he was for many teens. I have also read many celebrity memoirs which focused on a particular career highlight while giving some growing up stories. So, when I got Party of One by Dave Holmes from Blogging for Books*, I thought it would be a typical celebrity memoir about his time at MTV. I was in for a very pleasant surprise.

The major focus of the book is about how Holmes grew up in an all Catholic boys school and college as a gay person. He talks about his struggles, his worries about coming out, how he hid, and even made fun of gay people to protect his identity. 

He tells his story using song titles as chapter headings to create a playlist of sorts. Every now and then he also has Interludes where he creates song lists and tells a little bit more of his story in short bits. 

We, of course, also read about his time at MTV as a gay man and has to once again hide his identity to the viewing public. He winds up as a writer for Esquire with a very successful career. 

Holmes tells a very heartwarming story and does it with a lot of humor and a love of music of the late 80s and early 90s. Part of the book is a love letter to those times as he mentions some of more popular items of the time. It was fun reminiscing about those times.

Holmes' main story though is really powerful and I am sure he is sharing a story that quite a few other gay men had as they struggled with who they were in conditions that were not kind to them. I thought this would be a book that would be great for those youth who are struggling with who they are as it is honest and truthful.

I was glad I read this one. I gave it 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link= Party of One by Dave Holmes

* I wish to thank Blogging for Books and Crown Archetype for the free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow- Book Review

I picked up The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi Durrow as an impulse buy. The ebook was $1.99 on Amazon, it had some good reviews underneath it, and I figured it was a worth a shot. I am so glad I took the gamble as this is such a great book that I immediately started recommending to my friends after finishing it.

The story is about Rachel primarily, but it is also about Jamie who becomes Brick by the end.

Rachel is half Danish and half black and must live with her grandmother in Portland, OR after an event that happens in Rachel's life when she was living in Chicago. The event is the main mystery of the book, so I will not spoil what happened. All we know is Rachel now lives with her black grandmother in a black neighborhood, her father has gone back on assignment, and her mother and brothers are gone.

A large portion of the book is not only about Rachel's past, but about how Rachel now must fit in a primarily black community as she is light skinned and bright eyed. We follow Rachel throughout her life from early childhood into adulthood as she struggles with not quite fitting into either of the two communities- the white community, where she is too dark, and the black community, where she is too white. Men find her attractive, as she has developed early, and exotic, which doesn't help with the women within each community.

As stated, it is also the story of Jamie aka Brick, who is the sole witness to the event that happened in Rachel's life. His mother is a drug using prostitute of sorts and is absent in Jamie's life. He runs away one day, as a young child in search of Rachel. He only knows she is in Portland, but can only afford a bus ticket half way there. We follow his life as a homeless child growing up on the streets who is used by two other homeless people to make money off of him. Will he find Rachel and be able to tell her what happened? Hint: yes!

The story is told through the eyes of many of the characters, primarily Rachel's, who's narration changes the older she gets. I really appreciated this as most authors don't bother to change sentence structure or tone as the person ages. Durrow did this for Rachel and Brick. 

We also get glimpses into the event through the eyes of Rachel's mother, who kept a journal which is found by her neighbor and friend. Even though we get glimpses of the event and know what happened, the bigger question is why did this event happen and we are left in the dark until the very end of the book.

The characters are well developed and grow throughout the book. The writing is top notch too. Durrow definitely drew from her own life and that shows throughout the book, especially within the tension of not fitting into one culture. My copy had an interview with her, where she opens up about some of her life.

I really enjoyed this one and would highly recommend it. It might get dusty a few times in the room, but it is definitely worth the read. I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Little Killers A to Z by Howard Odentz- Book Review

Little Killers A to Z by Howard Odentz is not a book* I would have normally picked up. I am not really a horror guy, unless it is creepy horror rather than stabby horror, the cover screams bargain bin book, and the idea of murderous children doesn't appeal to me. I grabbed the book because quite a few people I trust posted reviews on Litsy (a social media for books), so I gave it a go.

I am so glad I did!

This book has 26 stories in it, hitting pretty much all the horror themes- kidnapping by Satanic cults, serial killers, vampires, etc. Each of the 26 stories are about 2-5 pages long and focus on a child's name beginning with that letter of the alphabet.

I will say I loved the length of each story. As one can imagine in a book of 26 stories, there are bound to be duds. For example, I thought the first story and the second story didn't do the book justice. The good news even the duds become good because they are only a few pages long! One doesn't feel invested or feel like time has been wasted on a dud story, which sometimes happens in short story anthologies which have stories spanning 30 pages. I am fine with a dud 2 page long story.

The stories that hit, really hit! Odentz has created some very interesting and creative stories that often have twists and are just a lot of fun- for a horror book. For example, I loved the serial killer story "F is for Fern Who Has Murder in Mind." It is about a little 8 year old girl who loves killing people only to make it look like an accident. No one suspects her because she is 8, so they think she is witnessing all of these horrific things. The whole story is told within her mind, as she playfully does these terrible things for her own enjoyment. There are many others that really hit well.

I am so glad I picked this one up, even though it was out of my genre. Good writing is good writing and Odentz has written some fun horror stories with a twist in each one. Give the book a shot as it is cheap on Kindle, right now.

I rated this one 4.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Little Killers A to Z by Howard Odentz

*I want to thank NetGalley and BelleBooks for this ebook. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson- Book Review

I am going to break my normal routine for this one. Until this point, I haven't done a review for a comic and even though I read them, I don't "count" them as books. I loved Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson though and I wanted to bring attention to it.

The book is a bunch of illustrated stories about Phoebe and her Unicorn-Marigold Heavenly Nostrils. Phoebe finds Marigold while skipping rocks awakening Marigold who has been staring at her reflection in a pond. The two become best friends thanks to Phoebe's wish and have adventures together.

It is really hard not to draw comparisons to Calvin and Hobbes as there definitely seems to be an influence there, but Simpson has created two just as lovable characters in Phoebe and Marigold. Marigold is often not seen by others thanks to a Shield of Boringness, which allows others not to even think of Marigold because they are too busy with their lives to notice a unicorn.

Both characters have wonderful personalities and will often switch the straight person's role. Phoebe is just as funny as Marigold with Marigold being more sarcastic than slightly psychotic Phoebe. I really enjoyed this aspect of the storytelling.

The artwork at first seems pretty simply, but the more one looks at it, the more details one sees. In a sleepover portion, Phoebe braids Marigold's mane. It could have been a one off, but Simpson kept Marigold's mane braided for the rest of the sleepover story until Phoebe declares the sleepover finished. It was a nice detail that helped keep the story together.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I loved it so much that I ordered the other two books and pre-ordered the upcoming book. I have also reminded people that I am a grown-ass man and I am not ashamed to say I loved this one. It doesn't take much time to read, but it is a lot of fun and made the Calvin and Hobbes feelings come back. Phoebe and Her Unicorn is a great spiritual successor.

I gave this one (and probably the series) 5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

Friday, July 22, 2016

The Insides by Jeremy P Bushnell- Book Review

There are certain movies that one watches where the individual knows the movie isn't going to win an Academy Award anytime, has some plot issues, but is still a good movie because it is a lot of fun. The Insides by Jeremy P Bushnell is the book equivalent of that movie.

The story revolves around Ollie, who at 18 decided to start dabbling in magic, not stage magic, but actual real magic. It is several years later and Ollie has broken up with her husband, left behind her child, and now works at a meat factory where her co-worker can slice and carve up meat faster and better than she can. Since she knows magic, she knows the knife he has is magically infused and she wants it. 

She is not the only one who wants it though. 

Maja is a professional tracker. Guided by the Archive, Maja can find anything or any person in the world through a talent that she has. She has been hired to find the magical knife and retrieve it. She is accompanied by Pig, the son of the man who hired her. He is a hitman who is not afraid to kill and wears a pig mask when he does. He eats and survives mostly on candy and Maja cannot get a read on him. There is something different about Pig.

Maja and Ollie are not too different as we will find out later and throughout the story. They both have difficult parts of their lives. They both hold onto something. They both do what they do to get by. What will happen when these two women finally meet?

What will happen when both parties go after the same object? What is so special about this knife?

Overall, The Insides is a fun book. I picked it up one night and read it almost straight through. It is weird at times, funny at other times, and is ridiculous at other times. It is a good adventure that hits good high notes and has some tense moments. It isn't deep and it is entertaining.

Where The Insides hurts itself is in some of the scenes. The Insides refers to a magical realm that can be opened and creatures live in the midst of this realm trying to protect it. The Insides, unfortunately, will not come into play until the very end and shows up in a few scenes that seem out of place. It is a plot device that didn't seem to be needed as the story would have been fine without the realm and with magic just existing in the world.

The other problem, at least for me, was the reveal of what the knife was. I am not going to spoil it, but it just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story. We are told what it is and I sat there saying to myself- what!?! Where did that come from? If it was introduced a bit or had a connection to our protagonist, I think it might have gone down smoother as a read.

I think this is a fun book though and I feel if someone reads it the ride will be fun. I have been telling people that if I had read this book on a plane, I might have had a different take away. I would read it on a weekend afternoon when one wants to just be entertained. This is what this book is, pure entertainment, which is not a bad thing.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Insides by Jeremy P Bushnell

Thursday, July 21, 2016

The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale- Book Review

I have a thing for true murder mystery books. They are my secret love and I have read a lot of them. Some are incredibly trashy and seem to have been written by a 4th grader telling, but there are others that are so well written that they seem like novels more than true murder mysteries. I am glad to say that The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale* falls into the latter.

In 1895, Robert Coombes (13 years old) and his brother Nattie (12 years old) all of a sudden come into a large sum of money. They are going to the big cricket match, they are buying things their family cannot afford, and they are just having a ball. Their father is on a ship heading for America and their mother seems to have disappeared. Neighbors ask about her and are told she is out by the boys. Their aunt comes over demanding to see their mother and they simply won't let her in. The neighbors are also noticing a pungent smell is coming from the house. They boy's aunt bursts in with police, while the boys are playing cards on the first floor and find their mother several days dead in her room with a knife by her side. Robert immediately admits to stabbing his mother once Nattie gave him the signal to do so.

This is all told in the FIRST CHAPTER of the book!

The rest of the book is a well told and greatly detailed story of what happened to the boys during and following the trial. We read what happened behind closed doors and while their father was away prior to the murder. We read how Robert treated his trial and what happened to him.

The amazing thing is it is an UPLIFTING story at the end. I don't consider this a spoiler as a simple Google search for the boys will reveal a lot of information, but that information comes from Summerscale's deeply researched book.

I have not read any of her books prior to this one, but this one made me want to read more. As it is an older story of murder, one can draw so many parallels to today. Robert had a thing for Penny Dreadfuls, which were cheap murder books for children. These silly books were considered vulgar for the young minds and the thought was they would drive children to murder. It is a similar argument around rock music or video games. Summerscale's presentation was very approachable even within its depth.

I would suggest that if you are interested in reading this one, not to use Google or even read other reviews as you will find out the ending to their story and as stated it is a good ending. 

I gave this one 3.5 stars almost into 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale

*I received this book for review from NetGalley and from Penguin Press in exchange for an honest review

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Eleven Hours by Pamela Erens- Book Review

As I continue down my Tin House Books rabbit hole, I decided to read one of their newer titles that I heard a lot about Eleven Hours by Pamela Erens. The good news was that it is another fantastic and well written book under the Tin House banner. The bad news was that it is also an extremely heavy book about broken relationships.

The whole story takes place over the course of eleven hours as Lore, a single pregnant mother, is about to deliver her baby. By her side is her nurse Franckline, a tough yet caring person. Both women have been thrown together by happenstance, but both women are dealing with broken relationships and secrets.

Lore's story involves her friend Julia and her friend Asa. Asa and Julia were at one time childhood lovers and have been on and off lovers as adults too. Julia convinces Lore to date Asa. There is a broken triangle relationship between the three of them.

Franckline is pregnant, but has not told her significant other yet. She has had several miscarriages and keeps fearing the baby within is also dying. Her paranoia and fear has kept her from being truthful to her husband about this new baby.

It is also the story of these two women who have now been brought together. Franckline initially does not like Lore's attitude or demands, but grows to see that Lore is doing the best she can with the situation she is in. Lore doesn't enjoy Franckline's nature, but grows to see that Franckline is doing the best she can to take care of Lore and feels lost without Franckline in the room.

As stated, the whole book takes place during the contractions portion of the delivery of Lore's baby and is told as if it were a train of thought book. We sometimes jump into Lore's story and Lore's thoughts and at other times we are following Franckline. There is not break or any chapters to allow for such transitions. Mid page and a paragraph jump and we might be in a different woman's head. The entire book is a single chapter.

The structure makes the book a tad difficult to follow at times, but it also lends to the idea that thoughts are flowing constantly during downtime and when left alone. Lore while waiting for the next contraction in the room alone might have a memory of how she got into this situation. Fanckline while working at her desk would think about her situation, so it works on that level. Having the person jumps though, mid page, was difficult in a few locations.

This is not a feel good book. While there are certain movies that one should watch even though they are heavy dramas, the same is with books. This is a heavy book. These two women's lives are not perfect in any sense of the word. They are in situations they do not want to be in. They are filled with worries and doubts. I will not spoil the end, but it isn't an easy delivery for Lore. I read the ending in the morning before going to work and that was a huge mistake!

The book is so well written that the story keeps moving. We feel the pain Lore is in both physically and emotionally. We are with Franckline as she struggles with her world. These women are alive and breathing characters.

While it isn't a book I will be ready to read again any times soon, I gave this one 4 stars. 

Here is your Amazon link- Eleven Hours by Pamela Erens

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis- Book Review

I am just a few hours out after finishing The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis* and I am still blown away by this book. I would have normally read through a book like this very quickly, but I took my time reading it to stay in the world and with Elka for as long as I could, but toward the end, I just had to finish it.

The story is about Elka who leaves her home at age 7 after an earthquake. She runs across a hut with meat laying out and animal skins hanging to dry. After she steals some jerky, the owner of the hut- Trapper catches her in the act. Recognizing she is alone, Trapper takes her in and teaches her how to survive in the woods.

Several years pass when Elka hears about a man who fits Trapper's description, is told he is a serial killer, and the law is after him. Elka runs from the man she knew as Trapper into the world that she has been taught not to trust.

Elka cannot read, doesn't know her real name, but has a letter pointing her to her parents, who are still alive and left her to seek gold. Elka's journey will take her several hundred miles of walking, across water, and she will meet people who are far scarier than Trapper. All during her journey Trapper is hunting her, the law is hunting her, and her memories are hunting her.

For the back half of her journey she will be accompanied by Penelope who will be one of her few friends, as well as a wolf named Wolf who keeps showing up in Elka's life, and Elka's knife which is a character in and of itself. Penelope is bought and paid for, but is also on the run and needs Elka to survive. Elka will need Penelope just as much. 

Many have compared this book to The Road by Cormac McCarthy and the only comparison I can draw is the tone of the book and that Elka is in a post apocalyptic world which is very bleak with the towns being far from one another. Otherwise, The Wolf Road is a story in and of itself almost without comparison. As I am on the topic, I would like to state that the post apocalyptic world does not play a major role in the book as it does in other books of the same genre. The book felt more like a Western more than anything in that the world is back to being part of the primitive wild, wild west. 

The major critique of the book is, and probably will be for others, the voice of the book. We are in Elka's head for all of the book, although we flip occasionally to being an observer. Elka speaks in a type of mountainesque dialect. Her words are simple and are often contractions. Even though she is highly intelligent, her voice comes off as kind of slow and not very bright. It was a bold way of writing the book and if I am to be honest, I started off really disliking the voice. Elka grew on me though, so listening to her speak didn't bother me as much the more I got into the book. My suggestion is before picking up the book, use Amazon's book preview or read a few pages at the bookstore to get used to the voice of the book.

I was very much surprised to read this was a freshman novel for Lewis. The book is very complex, well written, and the characters are well developed- even the side characters. Elka's world is alive in its barrenness and the fear of Trapper coming out at any moment is constantly there. It took a lot of writing skill to create this constant feeling of dread.

One more note before closing. The book begins with the ending. In the first few pages, Elka is hiding in a tree and Trapper is right below her. I am so happy that is how the book began because we know they are going to have to confront one another at some time. We know a showdown must happen, so it is taken right off the table in the beginning. The question of will they or won't they doesn't have to hang with us through the whole book, but it also doesn't eliminate the danger Elka is in.

I gave this one a solid 4.5 stars. At 350+ pages it is a tad long and the voice is grating in the beginning, but it is a solid ride and well worth the journey once you get used to Elka.

Here is your Amazon link- The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

*I received this book for review from BloggingforBooks.com and Crown in exchange for an honest review.

Monday, July 18, 2016

I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro- Book Review

If you know Tig Notaro and her story, there is not going to be much new in her book I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro, but it is still a fun read.

The book is mostly about Tig Notaro's worst year- 2012. Within the span of a few months, her mother dies, she is diagnosed with a disease that only the elderly get (C-Dif), her girlfriend breaks up with her, and she is diagnosed with breast cancer and must have a double mastectomy. 

The book is also about how these things and her famous Largo stand up set, launched her career into the stratosphere and gave her a new life. We all know Tig's story because we have seen her on HBO, her movie, heard the set, and have seen her tell the story on TV. All of it happened because of this horrible year and her willingness to be real with her audience.

As stated in the opening, I have heard much of this story, so it was not new material to me. I am a slightly more than casual fan of Tig's and have seen the documentary, her HBO specials, have listened to Professor Blastoff, and have seen her in a few TV shows. I enjoy her comedy and know the stories. 

What I enjoyed about the book was how in depth she goes into her mother's life in the early chapters of the book. Her mother was a huge influence on her and her outlook on life and it comes through in the pages. Her mother's influence also showed in how she faced her own cancer treatments and surgery.

The other part of this book that is worth owning are the pictures that come within the book. There are the usual pictures that normally come with the memoir type books in the center, but there are also drawings of Tig's life throughout the book. Her mother liked drawing and passed that talent onto Tig who included original drawings throughout the book. Those were incredible and gave the book a little extra oomph.

The wonderful thing about Tig, besides her ability to stay strong and funny throughout this horrible time, is her ability to be vulnerable. She shares that things were not easy and she wasn't alway happy and things got rough, yet she does it knowing the end story. There is a lot of hope and courage in her story and for that, even though I have heard it several times, I still say it is worth the read.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro 

Friday, July 15, 2016

Marrow Island by Alexis M Smith- Book Review

A week ago, I read and mini-reviewed Glaciers by Alexis M Smith. I loved the writing in the tiny book and the story was so great in its minimalism. I knew that Marrow Island was going to be up very quickly after Glaciers. Would her sophomore book be on par with her first one?

Marrow Island follows Lucie Bowen through a few time periods in her life. One takes place in the modern period, she is married to a character we will meet in another time period and is being asked by Sister J to return once again to her side as she is dying. Lucie has no plans to return, but is drawn back to see the results of a different time period in her life. 

In the other time period Lucie is returning to Marrow Island for the first time in 10 years. Prior to her return 10 years earlier her father died in an industrial accident which is why she left in the first place. She returns due to a letter from her best friend growing up, Katie. Katie is now part of a semi ecologically religious commune on Marrow Island under the leadership of Sister J. They are on the island to help bring new life to the island through the use of mushrooms. There is something very odd about this commune and Sister J. Katie has bought into everything Sister J teaches, but Lucie cannot. She will explore the island, what they are doing, and why many of the sisters have problems reproducing. There is also a lot of cancer within the commune. The question is why.

There is also the story of Lucie's neighbor across the way from her old cabin across the water from Marrow Island. This story will seep into the background, but will be significant within the book. I am lifting this up because I sort of forgot about it and almost missed some significant events because I forgot about this side story.

Marrow Island is a very slow burn. Smith's writing once again drives the story forward with it's beauty and flow. This woman can write beautiful sentences and it is her writing that really brings this story to life.

It is a slow burn though. I am repeating this because it seems not a lot happens, but things are happening which will come into play much later in the book, such as the story of the neighbor. We will see this story in the very beginning of the book and the payoff will not come until about 200 pages in. This happens throughout the book. Things that seem insignificant will play a very large roll somewhere within the book. Smith doesn't waste story and that is important to know while reading. It does move slowly though.

You will also learn more about mushrooms than you ever wished to learn. If I had a criticism of the book, it is how much you will learn about mushrooms. They play a significant part in much of the book. In the dedications that Smith makes, she credits someone for teaching her about mushrooms, so it was a passion project. At one point, I swore I read 20 pages about mushrooms, but it was no where near that many, but combine a slow burn with some serious mushroom education and it will feel like a lot. This would be my sole criticism if it was a true criticism.

Lucie's relationships are low key, but they too will pay off later. Reveals will happen about her relationship with Katie, Sister J, her father, her husband, etc. It just takes time in this book and it is worth it.

Overall, I would say this is a book that if you are a Smith fan, you probably have already read. If you are getting to know her, start with Glaciers because it is a similar pacing to Marrow Island, but it is only 100+ pages. Marrow Island is definitely worth your time.

I gave it 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Marrow Island by Alexis M Smith

Thursday, July 14, 2016

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware- Book Review

I was very excited when Gallery/Scott Press sent me an email with a link to this book on NetGalley. I loved Ruth Ware's In a Dark, Dark Wood and I am looking forward to re-reading it. When I got the link and early access to The Woman in Cabin 10, I was jumping up and down.

The book is about a woman named Lo Blacklock who is a magazine reporter. After being robbed in her home which makes her feel jumpy, she receives an exclusive invitation to board a new Norwegian luxury cruise line. 

On the first night, before dinner, she knocks on the door of the cabin next to her (Cabin 10). She sees a woman and asks to borrow some mascara. That evening after drinking a lot and still shaken after the break-in, she awakens to a noise outside of her cabin room. When she walks outside onto the veranda, she hears the sound of a body dropping into the water and sees blood on the side of the ship. When she calls security, the cabin is bare and there are no bloody streaks. Was it just a drunken dream? Was it something else? All she has is the mascara to prove it wasnt a dream. It is now up to Lo to investigate what happened to the woman in cabin 10.

The fun part about this book is that the entire book takes place on an enclosed ship. No one is getting on or off and there is a time limit to the investigation. It is like one of the old Thin Man or Agatha Christie novels. The ship has all sorts of twists and turns, one way doors, and there are only a handful of people to keep track of. The ship will also get smaller the more Lo gets deeper into the mystery.

The other fun part is we have an unreliable narrator. Lo is a pretty heavy drinker, she is paranoid from the break in, she has a history of panic attacks (it seems to be the new thing in novels), and she is on medication that mixed with alcohol can produce images. She is absolutely sure she saw something, but is hazy on the details, can't describe the woman, and was completely drunk when she saw the event. I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator.

I am not going to talk about the twist, but I actually groaned when it was revealed. I will be honest in my review here. Then I thought that if Ware was trying to emulate an Agatha Christie type book, the twist makes perfect sense. If not, it was truly groan worthy.

The book itself moves pretty quickly in the beginning and at the end. The beginning of the middle has a bit of a slowdown, but it revs back up. We get onto the ship very quickly and the dream/murder/drunken images happen very quickly after that. I know it is cliche to say, but this is the perfect beach type read or Saturday type read.

 It was a hard call to rate this one because I still had her first book in my head and Ware's sophomore book was good, but not great. Some of the characters are not developed and I even confused a few with one another. 

I gave this one 3.5 stars. 

Here is your Amazon link- The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

I received this book for free from the publisher with a link to NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones- Book Review

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones has to be one of the most unique takes on the werewolf genre that I have read. To be truthful, I do not read a lot of werewolf books.

A yet to transform boy and later teenager travel across the US with his uncle Darren and his aunt Libby. Libby and Darren are werewolves who must continue moving to survive. Sometimes they move because one of them has killed the wrong person, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes they move because there are werewolf trackers on their tale. Wherever they go, our narrator is waiting for his first transformation. He realizes he isn't like his uncle or aunt, but he hopes that someday he will change.

The story itself is told entirely through our unnamed narrator as he moves through life with his uncle and aunt. It is part a coming of age story, part gypsy life story, and part werewolf story. Our narrator admires his aunt and uncle and wants their life so much, even if it means a life of isolation and constant moving. He cannot connect with human girls because wolves kill them if the woman becomes pregnant. So, as he becomes a teen and his teen desires grow, he is torn between them and the wolf life.

We also meet other werewolves and two different types that have given up the wolf life. One group refuses to transform back to human and another are werewolves who refuse to become wolf anymore. Unlike the old tales, the full moon has nothing to do with transformation, but rather a desire to transform. Part of the question for our narrator is what is the difference between the wolf life and the human life?

There are also these little interlude chapters where the narration is a bit different and told from a 3rd person perspective. Our narrator has been keeping a journal throughout his time, so these might be journal entries, but it is never specified.

As much as I loved this take on the werewolf, the writing was at times a bit off-putting. I couldn't put my finger on why, but something was just slightly off every now and then which pulled me from the narrative. The book though as a whole is a great take on the werewolf genre.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller- Book Review

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller is the second book down my Tin House rabbit hole and the first of two-girl living with a crazy guy out in the forest books. I am also reading The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis and will review it soon. Our Endless Numbered Days is another book that will mess with your mind.

Peggy aka Punzel begins life with her father James, who makes her pack a rucksack to prepare for emergencies and is a survivalist, and her mother, who plays the piano while Peggy's father gets a bit stranger. 

One day, when Peggy is 7, her father tells her to pack her rucksack because they are going to live in the woods. James tells Punzel that her mother is dead as is the rest of the world. In order to survive, they must live in this secluded cabin and learn to live off of the land.

The story begins innocently as Punzel (short for Rapunzel) relies on her father and begins learning everything from him to survive. He also does special things for her, such as building weighted piano keys so Punzel can practice the piano. They sleep in the same bed and rely on one another.

Years begin to pass and James' behavior starts getting stranger and stranger. He starts calling Punzel her mother's name and cries out that her mother left him. The more strange her father becomes, the further Punzel begins to travel away from the cabin until one day she finds a pair of shoes in the woods and a man connected to those shoes. For 10 years, her father has been lying to her. What will Punzel do? 

The book itself is entirely told through Punzel's eyes and jumps between two points in time. The main narrative progresses as Punzel gets older, but the book also jumps to 10 years later where Peggy is reunited with her mother and her younger brother who happens to be 10 years old. We learn what happened out in the forest, what happened to James, and what life was like for those 10 years.

The great thing about this story is that Peggy aka Punzel becomes an unreliable narrator, simply because she is in a state of arrested development. We will also learn other things which will make her unreliable, but it would be a huge spoiler if I shared them on this blog. As stated in another review, I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator.

There is also a web of lies that float throughout this entire book. People withhold information to each other, like crazy. Not only James telling Punzel that everyone is dead, but there are other lies that float throughout. The great thing is the author doesn't blatantly fill in the blanks for the readers. One must put the pieces together and figure out what the truth is.

I am calling this book one of those books that I absolutely loved, but others may not. It does have some harsh scenes that might not sit well with others. Some may also be frustrated by the need to fill in blanks. I loved it though and cannot wait for Fuller's second book coming out in December.

I gave this one 5 stars!

Here is your Amazon link- Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
Here is a Tin House link to the book too- Our Endless Numbered Days

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond- Book Review

Here are two things I didn't know before reading Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond*-
1. It is part 2 of a series.
2. It is a Young Adult book

If I had known these two things ahead of time, I think it would have changed my view of this book.

Moria is a magician attempting to break out of her father's shadow. Her father is one of the most respected magicians in the world and Moria has been told by her father not to follow in his footsteps. She is really good though and wants to try out her magic in front of people. She happens across a mysterious envelope with an invitation to the most prestigious magic group.

While she is auditioning in front of this group, her hands all of a sudden feel like they are on fire! Things she wishes in her head become a bit of reality- cards transform, water appears from no where, etc. It turns out Moria is a real magic user, but she must keep that a secret.

In the meantime, there is Dez, the circus knife thrower. Dez is kind of a bad boy who Moria knows she must stay away from, but will she fall for his antics? Hint: yes.

As Moria learns more about her magic, her mother's link, and a mysterious coin in the circus, something is out there- will Moria find her place, create an incredible trick, and learn how to control her magic?

I included what I didn't know because when I started this book, I started it on a train trip to NYC. The trip is about 2-2.5hrs long and by the end of the first trip, I had finished just shy of 40% of the book. I had the book finished by the ride back. It started off well, but the relationships kept bothering me. Dez and Moria's relationship takes off too quickly, Moria is trusted by the magic group very quickly, and the plot moves forward, yet the characters aren't developed too well. The writing is also very simple and some of the sentences had me scratching my head. Knowing that it was geared toward a YA crowd, I might have read the book a bit differently. There are also characters who appear and seem to have some kind of significance, but we aren't told why. It turns out they are part of the first book.

If I had to classify this book, I would classify it as summer reading for a YA crowd. It was a light and quick read, but it simply wasn't for me, even though I love magic.  Even on a YA scale, it wasn't a great book. It was good, but not great.

I rated this one a 2 star on the YA scale.

Here is your Amazon link- Girl in the Shadow by Gwenda Bond

*I received this book for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Friday, July 8, 2016

Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith- Book Review

I have started going down a rabbit hole of Tin House Books and Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith was the beginning of the journey. I heard about this book from Liberty Hardy who kept raving about it on All the Books podcast as being one of her favorite books. After reading the book, I can see why.

The story is about Isabel who shops thrift stores, fixes damaged books in the library, and lives through her imagination. She has a thing for Spoke, an army vet who works with her in the library.

Isabel creates story around the things she sees and interacts with- a simple postcard or a dress. These simple things become peeks into a larger world.

The book itself travels through time with Isabel and is divided up into small chapters around an item or a thought. The only confusing part of the book is where we are in Isabel's timeline.

This is a very quick read at just over 100 pages, but it is the writing that is worth the time. The story is great, but it is also a simple one, but the way Smith tells it is worth the price of the book. Recently, I have been reading books and then selling them off at half the cost, but this is one that I am going to keep due to the beauty of the writing. Her writing just flows and carries the story through Isabel's eyes. Isabel's imagination is great because Smith writes her character so well. All I can say is read the first few lines in the Amazon book preview and I guarantee you will be hooked.

Smith just recently wrote another book with another publisher called Marrow Island, which I also look forward to reading, but if you want to give her a shot, do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Glaciers by Alexis M Smith

Thursday, July 7, 2016

The Trap by Melanie Raabe- Book Review

The more you follow this blog, the more you will learn I am a sucker for an unreliable narrator. The unreliable narrator who has the reader second guessing him/herself, questioning ones own values, and just wondering what is truth. 

Linda Conrad in The Trap by Melanie Raabe is the unreliable narrator of my dreams!*

Linda is convinced she knows who murdered her sister, so she begins to set a trap for the killer- she will write a book about the murder, lead the killer to her home, get him to confess, and then she will prevail.

There is a problem though. Linda hasn't left the house in 11 years, doesn't trust people except possibly a small circle of people who help her around the house, has panic attacks, freaks out during Beatles songs, and believes the murderer is the local anchor man on her television. Her plan is flawless, otherwise, including the multiple cameras she has set up and the mics all around her house. She just has to write another bestseller and get the news anchor into her house. The question is- did the local news anchor kill her sister or is Linda slowly going mad?

This is a book that will completely mess with your brain and I loved it! The entire story is narrated by Linda and we are in her head the entire time. She will argue with herself, question herself, doubt her thoughts, and as a reader you will see that you cannot always trust Linda as she doesn't always trust herself. One running thought she has is- I am going crazy. No, you're not. Yes, I am. If you were crazy, would you question if you were crazy? She is the perfect unreliable narrator. 

Within the book itself is another book- Linda's book. Each chapter ends with a chapter of Linda's book about the murder of her sister. The fun part is that many of the missing pieces of her story are contained within her novel, but because it too is fiction, one has to question how much of it is true?

Raabe's writing is a big draw. I was immediately sucked into the story and the pacing kept up, for the most part. There were just a few slower moments, but they rev back up again to have the reader questioning Linda's truth. Linda is a well developed character as we see her really wrestling with madness. Some of the side characters are not developed as well, but that is excusable since the entire narration is from Linda's brain, so maybe Linda doesn't know her trust circle all that well, which may be why she doesn't really trust them either.

This was a nice quick read and I loved it due to Linda. While not a perfect book, it is a great pick up and read for fun book. 

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Trap by Melanie Raabe

*I received this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam- Book Review

I didn't know what to expect going into Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam. Was it a critique of our modern fascination with the Kardashians? Was it a look at the 1%? What was this book?

The book is about two friends who have been together since they were 10 years old. Sarah is the daughter of a right wing talk show host and his wife, who throw parties for the upper 1%. Sarah has taken after their lifestyle and works for a charity. She is about to marry Dan, who is a husband who barely utters a word within the book, but who is also wealthy and successful.

The other woman is Lauren. While her parents are not as famous or wealthy, she met Sarah in private school. Lauren is an editor for a successful cook book publisher. She has a wild and vivid imagination and will often dive into her fantasies. She will date men for a bit, but something will break them apart.

Lauren and Sarah love and dislike each other at the same time. The book is about their relationship as Sarah prepares to get married to Dan. Sarah is secretly pregnant and has confided in Lauren who is her maid of honor. Lauren will often kowtow to Sarah, even though it often bothers her.

One of the main criticisms is that nothing happens in this book. Sadly, I don't think that is the case. The wedding, which the books seems to be building toward is sped through because it doesn't really matter in both of these women's lives. The birth of children also don't really matter, so they are sped through as well. These are just other things in their lives and I don't know if some readers get that idea.

Most of the story is told by the women reminiscing about their past, but even that is a fantasy. For Sarah, Lauren's ex boyfriend was perfect for Lauren- he had the right look, was on the right level, and worked for Sarah. For Lauren though, her ex became tiresome and so she dumped him, but even that may not be reality. There is a superficialness to their actions and their wonderful past may not even be that wonderful because secretly during those times they resented one another.

I also got the sense at the end, the two women had grown so far apart, even though they now live only 20 minutes away from one another. Sarah is married and has kids, while Lauren is now more successful and is still dating. There is now a deep chasm between them and all they have is their idealized past of one another. Maybe they really had nothing in common in the first place?

I really enjoyed this book because of their relationship. It is a strained relationship at best even though they are "best friends." At the same time, they need each other because it seems as without each other, they don't really have another- Dan is distant, Lauren cannot hold a relationship, and even friends are simply colleagues or hired hands. I found the book pretty humorous and biting at the same time.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Rich and Pretty is one of the Book of the Month picks for the month of July. If you would like to get in on Book of the Month, please click the link or banner and use the code "summer30." You will get 30% off a 3 month subscription, a free tote bag, and free sunglasses! If you use my link, it helps keep books coming to this site since I am a BotM sales affiliate.

Here is your Amazon link- Rich and Pretty- Rumaan Alam

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel- Book Review

I had Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel sitting on my Kindle just waiting to be read, when I saw that it was a pick this month for Book of the Month Club for the month of July, I started reading immediately. If you would like to try Book of the Month, click the banners or link and use the code "Summer30" to get 30% off a 3 month subscription, a free tote, and sunglasses. 

Imagine you are watching The Avengers, but instead of seeing the whole movie happen from the perspective of Captain America or Iron Man, you heard about the whole thing from interviews with those characters through the eyes...err eye of Nick Fury. This is what Sleeping Giants is and it completely works!

The novel begins with a person falling down a hole, but instead of falling far, the person lands on a giant hand. The hand isn't attached to anything else, nor is it an ancient relic that the Earth knows about, but it is definitely a full hand. Flash forward years later and we learn that there isn't just a hand, but several body parts scattered throughout the world and together they create a giant, female, robot that is controlled using two pilots- one for the arms and one for the legs, except the legs are more like ostrich legs than human legs. The only way for the pilots to control the giant is through a helmet which implants itself upon the user. What is this giant for? Why is it here? Why was it broken up and scattered? What will happen if it is found out?

The entire novel is told through a series of interviews from the hard to control, but deeply loyal female pilot to the Captain America type, but hot headed hero to the plotting geneticist. The characters themselves are archetypes of characters that have been seen in a ton of movies and books, but one needs these types of characters for the interview style book. We don't need complex characters because their complexity would be lost. due to the choice of the archetype characters, we have fully fleshed out characters that we only get to meet "face to face" every fourth chapter or so when we get an interview with that character. Yet, we know all about the person and what the person has done.

The fun of the book isn't just the giant robot, but rather the complexities of putting such a robot together in the midst of these giant world powers. Imagine trying to remove something from the modern day Middle East without them finding out or launching a full attack on the helicopter sent in to grab the piece, especially since each piece is gigantic and destroys whatever is sitting on top of it during the extraction process.

Then there is the giant robot. It isn't piloted the normal way, but rather Battle of the Planets style. How do the pilots synch up, especially when the knees of the robot are backwards? We also see what happens when it is accidentally revealed to the world and it is only in the hands of the US. What are the political ramifications of that?

I know the interview style does not work for everybody, but when done well, such as in this book, it really works. The characters are alive and can be distinguished from one another. The interviewer himself also has personality and interacts with each character in a different way, which is something a few of these interview style books can learn from. It just works and it was a joy to read. This was one of my favorites of the summer.

I gave this one 4.5 stars. 

It is great sci-fi and a fun read. If you are a Book of the Month Club member, you might want to add this to your queue.

Amazon- Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Monday, July 4, 2016

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler- Book Review

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler is THE book of the summer. People are buying this book like crazy and it has been on the NY Times bestseller list. This is a popular book! So, why didn't I enjoy it much?

Sweetbitter is the story of Tess who is 22 and just starting her life in NYC. She gets a job at one of the most prestigious restaurants in the city. This is a restaurant that serves and caters to the clientele so much so that they know the perfect seat, the perfect food, and the best wine to match to the customer. They pride themselves on everything, especially Simone the longest waiter there and Tess' mentor.

Within the restaurant there are a cast of characters, but the one who stands out for Tess is Jake. Jake comes in right when he feels like it, he seems to have distain for the whole process, and he is the guy who has Tess' eye. Jake is the completely wrong guy for Tess, but will she go for him anyway even though she has been warned by her mentor to stay away? (Hint: yes)

We follow Tess through a year at the restaurant where she continues to plummet into the restaurant's lifestyle. It may be serious during the serving times, but after hours the debauchery begins. Drinks are poured at the restaurant's bar and then some of the crew head out to another bar where drugs are snorted and people hook up with one another. Tess falls into the life and we watch her plummet down the rabbit hole as she continues to make choice after choice bringing her further down, including a relationship with Jake.

I asked on Litsy (my new favorite social media site)- have you ever had a book that was ok, but you weren't enjoying it that much and kept wanting to read other books instead? Sweetbitter was that book for me. The writing has simple quick sentences and drew me in during the opening chapters. It was the change of seasons that lost me. This book took me a week and a half to read and for those that know me, that is a long time in my world.

I believe what lost me was her relationship with Jake. From the beginning, I kind of figured out what was going to happen with Tess- she could either rise above everything and take Simone's place or plunge into the depths and go after the guy. She went after the guy who was mentally and physically abusive toward her. After their first night of sex in the back of the cab, the very next section is Tess trying to figure out how to cover up her bruises. She gets mocked by him and is made to feel stupid often by Jake and she knows it too! So, why does she continue to stay with him?

That was the main reason why this book lost me. This was the fourth or fifth book written by a woman that I read where the protagonist goes after an abusive man and takes his abuse. In the meantime, I have also read women authors who are struggling against real abuse in their lives and trying to stop perpetuating the notion that women should allow for abuses. So, my question is why are some women authors promoting the abusive relationship as a good thing? 

We, the readers, know Jake is terrible for Tess and even Tess figures that out. She continues to stay though and falls for him as her life continues to fall apart with alcohol abuse and drug abuse. Maybe others saw it differently, but I saw a train wreck and I didn't want to watch. Don't get me started on the ending either (Hint: more sexual abuse for Tess, but by a different character).

I gave this one 3 stars because of the writing. If it were not for the writing, this would have been a bail. I kept trying to see why everyone loved it, but I just didn't

Here is your Amazon link- Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

Friday, July 1, 2016

The Gift of Hard Things by Mark Yaconelli- Book Review

The Gift of Hard Things by Mark Yaconelli is a quick and easy read on the difficulties of life through a Christian lens. Yaconelli covers such topics of burnout, failure, anger, etc through story and a very brief Biblical reflection. Each chapter ends with some discussion questions and reflection points.

The book itself is a pretty run of the mill formula. Tell a story, share how it applies to the topic, and then add Jesus into it. This does not mean it is a bad thing, but it is a formula that follows what many Christian authors do (including me- Grace. Justin Johnson *cheap plug).

Yaconelli is a great storyteller which makes the book move very quickly. He writes from the heart and shares simple story that connects well. 

I will state that some of the stories were too simplistic for me. I was a bit thrown off right from the get go with his story Maddalena. Yaconelli states he was feeling burn out, so his friend takes him on a road trip and they stop at a restaurant. As they get a little tipsy, full, Yaconelli smiles and his friend declares him cured! They then order the cook to keep cooking after hours for them. The first off-putting portion was how they treated Maddalena. It seemed more rude than anything. The other was that a meal and a road trip would cure burnout. I know he knows more than that, but that was what was portrayed on the page.

Yaconelli has some stories I connected with such as his disastrous prayer service for teens where only elderly women come. I have been in a very similar situation, so I felt his pain. Other stories were heartbreaking such as Graduation Day, where he shares the story of a woman who graduates alone, so her husband dubs cheering over her video to show she is not alone. The stories are what drive the book.

I rated this one 3 stars. Without Yaconelli's voice, it would be less of a book as there wasn't much there to work with. I often wonder why publishers include a question section in books like this due to wondering if the intent is to study it with a group automatically, which comes off a bit more pretentious.

Here is the Amazon link- The Gift of Hard Things by Mark Yaconelli

I received this book for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.