Subscribe via RSS Feed

Category: Literature & Fiction

Review: Bound by Antonya Nelson

[ 0 ] May 21, 2012

Reviewed by Alisha Churbe

The story starts with a dog. The dog has been in a car accident with its owner. Exit dog.

Enter Oliver Desplaines, a 70-year-old successful man– successful as both an entrepreneur and a philanderer. He is now married to his third wife, with a ‘Sweetheart’ on the side. (Will he ever learn?) His third wife is Catherine. Catherine’s mother is in a care facility and an ex-professor; she seems to be quite close in age to Oliver. Mother is disapproving of her daughter’s marriage and many of her personality traits as well.

Catherine’s best friend from high school, Misty, dies in a car crash and leaves Catherine to care for her daughter, also Catherine. They apparently made a pact; however, Catherine does not remember this agreement and on more than one occasion cannot believe that Misty ended up a mother. Catherine also knew nothing of the daughter as they hadn’t been in touch since college.

Also during their teen years, there was the BTK serial killer. He began his spree of killings across the street from Misty’s house and he’s been killing ever since. News information is spattered throughout the book, as his reign runs in parallel to Catherine’s life. Misty’s daughter, nicknamed Cattie, has her own teen drama and runs away from boarding school when she hears the news of her mother’s death (or suicide?).

Nelson’s description of setting and place is truly mesmerizing, but the characters are only sort of likable. There are many characters that come and go throughout the novel. There are some that only appear a time or two and appear to have importance, but are later forgotten; one character simply walks out of the novel, while another one dies to tie up the loose end.

Bound is riddled with many parallel plot lines. Some intersect and others only seem as though they may touch, but never actually do. This creates an element of suspense and in the end a bit of frustration. The anticipation of the story lines possibly intersecting will keep you reading. The novel is a quick read with only moments of depth. There are moments of brilliance hidden in this novel along with some unforgettable, vivid descriptions. For that alone, it could be worth the read, just don’t go in for the plot.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Part-time fiction writer, Alisha Churbe lives in Portland, Oregon. In the rare instances when you can pry her away from books, Alisha can be found travelling in foreign countries, cooking, or hiking with her husband Michael and dog Euro.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Bloomsbury USA. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: So Pretty It Hurts by Kate White

[ 2 ] May 19, 2012

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

In my opinion, So Pretty It Hurts mostly falls under the cozy mystery heading. Bailey Weggins, our protagonist, is working for a gossip magazine as the crime reporter. She’s rather independent and impetuous not to mention she has a reporter’s curiosity, which can get her into trouble.

Bailey is invited to a party in upstate New York and since her boyfriend is in Arizona, she accepts (partly as a way to get back at him for leaving in the first place). Most of the guests are centered around a famous fashion model, Devon, her friends and acquaintances. A sudden snow storm maroons everyone at the house and the party turns sour when Devon turns up dead. Bailey suspects possible foul play.

Even after everyone is allowed to go home, Bailey just can’t let it go. She believes that someone gave the already unhealthy Devon a push over the edge. Her suspicions grow dramatically when Devon’s mom claims that Bailey tried to blackmail her, which can be death to a journalist’s career should it not be disproven.

Overall, I thought So Pretty It Hurts was a pretty good book. It was easy to read, there were enough puzzles to keep it interesting and Bailey was a decent character. She was intelligent and caring but sometimes curiosity overrode her better sense. I enjoyed the book and I don’t think one needs to read the previous books in the series to get a hang of the story.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Caleb is a software engineer and amateur woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

A review copy was provided free of any obligation by Harper. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: The Mirage by Matt Ruff

[ 1 ] May 17, 2012

Reviewed by Marcus Hammond

The Mirage by Matt Ruff is a complex vision of an alternate reality. Ruff takes everything we know about the recent history surrounding the War on Terrorism and our interactions with the Middle East and turns it upside down. The United States does not exist. Instead there is a Christian States of America and numerous other independent countries including The Republic of Texas, and the independent countries of Louisiana and Mississippi. The Middle East is united into the United Arab States. Most important to the story is that Americans hijacked airplanes and attacked the Arab world in an act of terrorism.

Central to the story are Mustafa, Amal, and Samir, Homeland Security agents employed with the task to search out Christian insurgents. Within their investigations they begin to find evidence of an ideology-destroying concept that the Arab world they live in is not real, that it is only an illusion of reality. Others in Baghdad know of the theory as well. Saddam Hussein, a Baathist gangster much like a mafia don, is interested in the theory due to his relatively powerful position within the theory. Also interested is Osama bin Laden, the head of the UAS’s version of the CIA known as Al Qaeda. In his view, any trace of the theory needs to be censored and destroyed, in order to maintain the peace and security of the UAS. Each character has something to lose or gain within this alternate theory of existence. As the investigations by every involved party progress, it becomes clear that allegiances will be tested.

The juxtaposition of reality to a hypothetical situation accentuates the concept of a shared history. Ruff challenges the basic ideology that Christians and Muslims are different by emphasizing the basic human experiences involved with war. Each character has a unique desire to change the world, and that accentuates that whether one is Christian or Muslim, everyone strives for a better life. He also emphasizes the idea that no matter what governing system a culture has, there will always be corruption. At times, however, it is hard to envision Ruff’s alternative world due to the knowledge that dominates our preconceived understanding of current affairs.

I think a lot of people will pass The Mirage up based on its subject, others will view it as utterly ridiculous, and a select few will be amazed at its uniqueness.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

After obtaining a Masters in Liberal Arts and Literature Marcus has dedicated most of his time to teaching English Composition for a community college in the Midwest. In his down time, he spends time avidly reading an eclectic selection of books and doing freelance writing whenever he gets the chance. He lives in Kansas with his wife.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Harper. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: Racing the Devil by Jaden Terrell

[ 1 ] May 17, 2012

Reviewed by Melanie Kline

Jared McKean is a private investigator with issues. He is divorced and cannot seem to get over it. He is still in love with his ex-wife Maria and misses their son Paulie; he is feeling down when he strolls into The First Edition Bar and Grill. Tonight is the first anniversary of Maria and her new husband D.W.’s marriage and Jared just cannot seem to believe that his thirteen year marriage is over and Maria has moved on.

The first person Jared lays eyes on upon entering the bar is a battered and bruised woman. Jared tells himself that it isn’t his problem, yet when the woman finds her way to his table and asks him to buy her a beer, she becomes his worst nightmare.

Jared and the woman – who introduces herself as Heather – wind up in a motel room with a bottle of Sangria. When Jared awakens in the morning with a pounding headache, his last memory is of them having sex. He finds a note on the table that simply says “I’m sorry”. Jared then sees his picture on the front page of the newspaper – wanted for questioning in the murder of Amanda “Amy” Jean Hartwell.

Jared has never laid eyes on Amy and has no idea where anyone got the idea that he is her lover, but things just keep getting deeper and more twisted from there. When he arrives at his truck, his gun is on the floor sticking out from beneath the seat and he knows that he left it in the locked glove compartment. His fingerprints and DNA are found at the crime scene. It becomes quite apparent to Jared that someone is trying to frame him for this and the race is on to not only dodge the police and stay out of jail, but to conduct his own investigation into who really killed Amy. Jared is convinced that this is the only way to prove his innocence.

I enjoyed Racing the Devil, but felt that it could have used a little more work. The story and events felt a bit distanced and while the beginning of the book moved extremely quickly, the rest of the book seemed to be dragging on. In fact, I had to reread the beginning of the book because by Chapter 4, I was completely lost as to what was going on. Although slow at times, Racing the Devil was interesting and I am interested in reading the next Jared McKean mystery to see if the pace of the story has been improved.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Permanent Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: Objects of My Affection by Jill Smolinski

[ 2 ] May 16, 2012

Reviewed by Alysia George

If you’ve ever watched one of those reality shows about hoarding or about interventions, you probably have quite a bit of insight into both of these situations. And you’ve probably thanked your lucky stars that you haven’t had to deal with either of them. But even though reality television is undoubtedly sensationalized, there  is some truth behind it which forms its basis, at least in these cases. Jill Smolinski takes us on a fictional journey involving both hoarding and addiction and intervention in her novel, Objects of My Affection.

The main character, Lucy, is on a bad luck streak. First she loses her job, then her boyfriend leaves her, and finally she is compelled to arrange an intervention for her teenage, drug addicted son. To pay for his rehab, she has to sell her house and most of her belongings. Feeling completely desperate to start a new life, Lucy takes a job helping a hoarder clean out her house.

The job is more challenging than she imagined, and so is helping her son overcome his addiction. But nonetheless, Lucy is determined. Unlikely friendships form, and Lucy comes to understand that she has a lot of self-growth to do along the way as well.

I love that Objects of My Affection touches on current issues in a fresh and interesting way. Smolinski writes real, likeable characters, just as she did in her last book, The Next Thing on My List. This is a quick and fun read that I would definitely recommend.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Alysia lives in Metro Detroit with her husband and four children. She writes about family life, parenting issues, and other things of interest to her on her blog, Michigal.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Touchstone. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden

[ 1 ] May 14, 2012

Reviewed by Meg Massey

Libby Sawyer and her father are stunned when a Romanian man named Michael Dobrescu overtakes their home, claiming that he owns it. Libby soon learns that Michael claims to be a descendant of the previous owner, and that he and his family were never notified of his uncle’s death.

Libby finds herself in a predicament as the novel continues, and not just because she’s no longer living in her own home. She soon finds herself growing more and more attracted to Michael, and the more she learns about him, the more she disagrees with her father that Michael and his family are imposters. As the court case to decide the fate of the house looms closer, Libby must decide if she sides with Michael and his family, or the father she’s never really understood.

The Rose of Winslow Street is a delightful historical, Christian fiction novel by librarian Elizabeth Camden. In the beginning of the novel, Libby is a young woman living with a shameful secret, and by the novel’s close, she had matured into a woman who knows what she wants, with the gumption to get it. And Michael is a man who often makes mistakes with his words, but always knows how to encourage and show love to those he cares for. My only complaint is that it ended too quickly!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Meg lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Ryan. Library professional by day, freelance writer by night, Meg writes about life, entertainment and everything in between on her blog.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Bethany House. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: Calico Joe by John Grisham

[ 6 ] May 11, 2012

Reviewed by Jennifer Rasmussen

Paul Tracey is on a quest to amend a wrong his father, a pitcher for the NY Mets, committed against one of baseball’s greats, a young up-and-coming rookie for the Chicago Cubs, Joe Castle “Calico Joe”.

In true Grisham fashion, the book opens with an incredibly in-depth accounting of Joe Castle’s first few rookie games, and Paul’s hero-worship of this superstar. The opening stories are so factual and detail-rich I had to have my baseball-geek husband translate a few of them, but then the story kicks into high gear as Grisham reveals the relationship–and life-changing event–between Joe Castle and his father. From that point on, I couldn’t put it down.

Grisham has a fantastic way of making the characters come alive and intertwines the events with an artistic flair. This allowed me to effortlessly switch between the flashbacks of how the events unfolded when Paul was young and Paul’s journey to right them as a grown man.

I have a glancing knowledge of baseball, and for anyone who’s not a major follower of baseball, I will caution you that the first chapter may be difficult to follow, but worth sticking it out. Once the relationship between Paul’s father and Joe is revealed, baseball knowledge is no longer necessary. I understand why Grisham layered the details of Joe’s first few games, and baseball geeks will love it, but Calico Joe is really a book about people, forgiveness and relationships.

Calico Joe is a fantastic read for Grisham fans, baseball fans, and anyone looking for a light, quick drama.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of Calico Joe!

Jen Greyson writes supernatural thrillers and corporate training guides and tries not to mix the two. You can find her free ebook, How to Build a Writing Platform that Works: The New Path to Publishing, at her website, http://TheSurvivalMama.com.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Doubleday. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
View Post

Guest Post: Edward Blaine Livingston, author of Pare My Heart

[ 1 ] May 10, 2012

Please welcome my friend Edward Blaine Livingston with his new book of poetry, Pare My Heart!

by Edward

I don’t usually go too deeply into why I write something or what it’s about personally for me, just as an artistic principle, but I will share a little.

Pare My Heart is a book of largely metered and entirely rhyming poems, some of them about love, romantic love, some about childhood, some about God/religion, some just about observing the world in a philosophic way. Some of them are referential to a girl I was in love with in childhood and adolescence and others are entirely separate from that. I feel that the whole thing forms a kind of narrative, though it may be deceptive and not grounded in the actual inspiration of the poems (at times).

I think I would like to say that my work stresses musicality and a kind of childlike enjoyment of the sound of words, the rhythm of phrases and rhyme. Certainly it is full of references to fairies, ghosts, selkies and all manner of imaginary stuff that is out of fashion for poems today. It lacks the gravitas of contemporary poetry, but this is delibrate.

Related Posts with Thumbnails
View Post
Page 1 of 9812345...102030...Last »