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Category: Contemporary

Review: The Gentlemen’s Club by Becky Due

[ 6 ] August 23, 2011

Reviewed by Melanie Kline

Angie belongs to the gym so that she has a place to shower before she heads off to her jobs. Credit card debt and a bad relationship have left her living in her car, but this is just the tip of the iceberg that has ravaged her life. She has pretty much seen it all – abusive men, molestation, etc.

Angie is convinced that there is a better life out there somewhere and when she meets Julie, the pieces finally begin to fall into place for her. They become instant best friends. They enjoy the same things and have had very similar life experiences; Julie gives Angie a hand to hold while she works things out.

Angry at men and their treatment of women, Angie decides to write a piece for the newspaper where she works about the strip club across the street. She interviews the workers there and they become fast friends. At a group meeting the women discuss their own secrets of rape, prostitution, assault and depression and Julie suggests that they pay the men back. At first they joke about what they would like to do to them, but it quickly escalates into a plan for a hostile takeover of the club.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Gentlemen’s Club until almost the end. Suddenly, I found myself almost repulsed by the way that the women were blaming everything on men. Yes, the men were wrong, but they refused to admit that they were in any way guilty themselves. For example: the men treat the women badly at the club – ogling them, talking trash, etc. So my thought was quit, don’t work there. Angie herself had done a stint working at a strip club and quit when she didn’t like the way she was treated. For me, it became male bashing and blaming at its finest. I understand the point that was trying to be made, but I am afraid that the attempt fell far from the mark and made the women themselves the unlikable characters.

Rating: 2/5

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

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Review: Low Town by Daniel Polansky

[ 4 ] August 22, 2011

Reviewed by Jenna Arthur

When your past comes back to haunt you and you are forced to make a tough decision, what do you do? That is what The Warden must ask himself. Welcome to Low Town, a town with streets riddled with thugs, hustlers, junkies, crime, corruption and an evil that even a man as dark as The Warden cannot imagine.

Crime and drugs rules The Warden’s present. Disgraced by his past, he is forced into a life of crime. He is a long forgotten hero, once a revered intelligence officer he is now nothing more then a drug dealer, a criminal, another low life that most people fear. Living day to day selling drugs and ruling the streets, he has succumbed to the fact that anything other then destitution is beyond his grasp. Until one day, the day he sees the face of a child looking up at him, no life left in his eyes.

Diving back into the life he left behind he once again becomes an agent in search of the mystery behind the face of this child. He is trying to protect his home. He is trying to find the truth. So many faces left in the dust with no one looking to the source of the crime. Not this time. The Warden follows the path of lies and deception to where he least expects it, to a darkness so evil, it defies corruption and sorcery. What will The Warden have to face to grasp what is looking at him in the face?

Filled with a reminiscent feel of the darkest noir novels, Low Town is an multifaceted novel that takes the reader on an interesting journey down a winding road of corruption. A large vocabulary and an active descriptive sensibility are the bread and butter of this novel, laying open the depths of this story’s plot and showing the author’s wealth of knowledge.

Though well described and thoughtful, the feel of the story and a portion of the dialogue does not fully live up to the language backing it. However, the combination of crime versus fantasy gives Low Town an enticing and noteworthy basis that will appeal to those often reaching for a novel in the fantasy, crime and noir genres.

Rating: 3.5/5

Check out Daniel Polansky’s guest post and enter to win a copy of Low Town!

Jenna lives in the bustling city of Pittsburgh, PA with her fiance and her two beautiful cats. Along with her passion for reading and the literary world, she is also an artist, writer, environmental activist, creative coordinator and aspiring culinary genius. She believes there is nothing better to her then a good book, and lives one cover to the next.

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

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Review: Downward Dog, Upward Fog by Meryl Davids Landau

[ 7 ] August 18, 2011

Reviewed by Shannon Hopkins

There are few among us who can’t relate to Lorna Crawford in some way. She has a job she loves with coworkers she decidedly doesn’t; a boyfriend who is sweet and charming, but constantly tied up with work; and a mother in whose eyes she never quite measures up. When we meet Lorna, she is on the verge of a road rage meltdown – something anybody who’s ever had to commute anywhere can understand – and we soon learn that this is a fair indication of her life as a whole. When she finds herself unreasonably frustrated with her closest group of girlfriends, Lorna knows it’s time for a change.

Lorna’s journey to enlightenment begins with some gentle prodding from her sister, interfaith minister Angelica (Anna), who consistently encourages her: “Last time something serendipitous happened to me, she quoted this fellow, Deepak something, who wrote in some book that coincidences are messages.” (p. 9) As Lorna jumps in to weekly yoga sessions, spiritual self-help books and nightly attempts at meditation (sujaling, as she calls it), she opens herself up to new friends and new understanding about her life. However, as uplifted as she feels in the moment, she finds her progress threatened by outside influences as well as her own self-doubt.

In Downward Dog, Upward Fog, Meryl Davids Landau explores the path to spiritual awakening and serenity with its many obstacles and small victories, with a protagonist who is sympathetic because she could be any one of us. Her supporting characters are equally engaging, realistic three-dimensional individuals rather than mere caricatures of the “nagging mother” or the “enlightened one”, which allows the reader to fall more completely into the story.

I was concerned that the spiritual concepts presented would be somehow separate from the central story, especially because of the potential for descriptions that would go over the average reader’s head. Fortunately, Landau approached the road to spirituality primarily from Lorna’s perspective, making the reader a partner in her discovery and development and maintaining the accessibility of those concepts. Anybody could, after reading this book, choose to begin a similar spiritual journey with a level of comfort she may not have had before. Even if the spiritual journey lasts no longer than the last page, the reader will find herself rooting for a happy ending – for Lorna, and ultimately for herself.

Rating: 5/5

Shannon lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her fiancé and a room full of books that she peruses when she isn’t trolling Apartment Therapy for new decorating ideas. In her free time she enjoys maintaining her blog, The Writer’s Closet, planning her wedding, and baking tasty gluten-free treats.

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

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Review: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

[ 7 ] August 17, 2011

Reviewed by Alisha Churbe

Believing herself to be a young, 20-something with all of her life ahead of her, Christine wakes up next to a strange man wearing a wedding band. She stumbles to the bathroom only to see her wrinkles and the face of a woman much older than she believes herself to be. She sees the pictures carefully arranged, with arrows pointing at the older woman’s face, “you” and the man from the bed, “your husband, Ben.” She’s terrified and tries to catch her breath. This can’t be her life, where did the last 20 years go? This is the way Christine wakes each morning. She has a rare form of amnesia, different than what we’ve seen in other memory thrillers, where she is unable to retain any new memories after she goes to sleep.

Christine is met by a savvy psychologist who suggests that she keep a journal; the novel speeds up in pace while we learn about Christine’s life as she does, one piece at a time, building on top of previously known information, until the final pieces threaten the entire structure and everything begins to wobble. Watson uses foreshadowing to build a dangerous foundation. The plot climaxes at a point when Christine reads, “Don’t trust Ben” scrawled on the front page of her journal. Christine learns pieces of her past that force her to barely even trust herself. Dr. Nash even plants the seed of doubt causing her to question everything that she’s learned and written with her own hands in her daily journal.

I was immediately hooked by Before I Go to Sleep. The premise is intriguing and at times haunting. The building of suspense and the immediacy of the pace makes for a very quick read. In the end, looking back at it, some things were just a bit too convenient. Though Christine is not able to make new memories, it seems that there are things she is able to remember or the story wouldn’t move as quickly. The novel takes an unexpected and devastating turn near the end, but even that turn felt a little contrived.

Rating: 3.5/5

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 Zach.

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

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald

[ 156 ] August 15, 2011

Please join Lisa Grunwald, author of The Irresistible Henry House, as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours!

Reviewed by Vera Pereskokova (Luxury Reading)

The idea for The Irresistible Henry House came about by accident. Author Lisa Grunwald was searching the web when she stumbled across a photo of a baby boy – a “practice baby” from Cornell University’s long since abandoned home economics program. This single photograph led to more research and eventually to the marvel that is The Irresistible Henry House.

Henry was just one in the long line of “practice babies” in the 1940s, brought to the all-women’s Wilton College to be passed from one “practice mother” to another. The program director, Martha Gaines, was a model of austerity and discouraged any excessive signs of affection towards the babies in her charge. In her mind (and in the mind of many child-raising experts at the time), babies had to be trained to stay in schedule and holding the babies “too much” was about the worst thing one could do.

Despite herself, Martha grows attached to Henry and decides to raise him as her own. Skilled in tending to infants and toddlers, she knows surprisingly little of children older than two years of age. Because of her ineptitude and owing largely to his unusual upbringing, Henry grows up craving attention of everyone, never letting his loyalties or affections rest with just one person.

The Irresistible Henry House follows our character through his decision to stop speaking as a protest to Martha’s ever imposing presence, his stint in a school for kids with special needs in Connecticut, his blossoming art talent and his various gigs in animation with Disney, both in the US and the 1960’s London.

Henry is intensely charming and moves through women just as fast as he moves from place to place, from one feigned attachment to another. Henry enjoys conquering women, enjoys knowing that he can win them over if he chooses to do so. But, his actions are easy to tie back to the lack of a motherly bond in his childhood, easy to explain away as a result of his upbringing. And it is his apparent desire to truly love – and his inability to do so – that keeps the pages turning, and keeps the suspense and the hope for a happy ending alive for the reader.

Rating: 4.5/5

Giveaway:
I have 1 copy of The Irresistible Henry House to give away!

Mandatory entry: Please comment here and include your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
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This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on August 31, 2011.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Random House. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden

[ 7 ] August 10, 2011

Reviewed by Christen Krumm

Elizabeth Camden’s The Lady of Bolton Hill begins in Baltimore, Maryland in 1867. A tragic accident happens to the main character Daniel Tremain, an impoverished steel worker, that sets the tone for the rest of the book. Clara Endicott comes from the privileged Bolton Hill and is Daniel’s best friend, much to her father’s dismay. She is soon shipped off to live with her aunt in London to prevent the friendship from blossoming into anything more.

Fast forward twelve years later — Clara, now an aspiring journalist, is in trouble for a story she had printed in the states that sheds light on the working conditions of the children in the coal mines. Through a series of events, she barely escapes a life sentence in the London jails. She is shipped back to Baltimore with instructions to never return to London.

Daniel has now risen to be a powerful industrial titan with an unwavering vendetta and influential enemies. Clara’s one goal in life turns to helping Daniel resolve his vendetta whether he wants her help or not. After writing a story defending the underprivileged workers of the steel mills and - unbeknownst to Clara – shines a negative light on Daniel, he decides to wash his hands of her forever. However, when she goes missing, Daniel will stop at nothing to get her back and prove his love to her once more.

The Lady of Bolton Hill is the debut work of author Elizabeth Camden, a college librarian from central Florida, and I must say bravo! I am always amazed when I read a book as well written as The Lady of Bolton Hill and later discover that it was the author’s first published work. This book has romance, adventure, and suspense packaged between its two covers. I feel like Elizabeth Camden packed so much into her book, however, not once did I feel like she went overboard with her story. Everything from the setting to the characters to the strong vendetta that Daniel carries was written about most beautifully. I am very excited to see other works from this author in the years to come.

Rating: 5/5

Christen graduated from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith with a BA in English. She’s a coffee drinking stay at home mom by day and a freelance writer/editor by night. She currently resides in Arkansas with her husband and daughter and is excited to welcome a son in August.

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

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Review: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

[ 9 ] August 9, 2011

Reviewed by Alisha Churbe

In Patchett’s newest novel, State of Wonder, Marina Singh, a pharmaceutical researcher, is sent by her company to the Amazon jungle to find a missing colleague, Anders Eckman. This former colleague is also a former mentor from Singh’s days at medical school before she dropped out. Anders was sent some weeks prior to track down the allusive and intimidating Dr. Annick Swenson and retrieve updates on her progress for a sonder drug being created to assist in fertility.

The novel follows Singh on her journey into the jungle and out of her comfort zone. Patchett manipulates her characters in such a way that they are forced to give the story and each other everything they have.

Singh is forced into a situation where everything is strange and unusual, the rules of conduct are different and it seems as though everything is against her. She rises to the challenge and with force, obtains passage to the remote area where Dr. Annick Swenson resides. Once there, she eventually surrenders herself to all that surrounds her. Her quest is one that will only be successful if she allows herself a change in perspective.

State of Wonder is perfectly paced with a cast of very likable and well thought out characters. The plot of the story isn’t merely a musing on modern drug creations and the west’s effects on tribal cultures, but also a multi-layered exploration in the power of environment, philosophy, ethics, with a small smattering of mystery to keep you only wanting more. The novel delves into an exploration of nature versus nurture, where in the end, your own views may be influenced.

The title has been perfectly defined, as the novel suspends you and its characters in a state of wonder. Intricate descriptions of the Amazon jungle and all of its characteristics: vegetation, lifestyle, inhabitants, sounds and smells. State of Wonder is an adventure worth undertaking.

Rating: 4.5/5

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 Zach.

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

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Review: Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington

[ 10 ] August 8, 2011

Reviewed by Colleen Turner

Alice Bliss is in many ways a typical fifteen year old: she argues with her mother, tries hard to take care of her little, precocious sister and is a daddy’s girl of the highest caliber. She has spent her life following her father around, learning how to garden, building things in his workshop and going with him on roofing jobs. He has also taught her to be meticulous, gracious and to never let her fears get the best of her. She loves her father beyond all others and has always tried hard to make him proud.

When Matt Bliss decides to enlist in the military, his family is devastated. Alice’s mother tries to convince him that this was not part of the plan but has to relent when he makes up his mind that this is something he needs to do. Matt works hard to instill in Alice and her sister, Ellie, all the life lessons he can before shipping out to Iraq, just in case they are needed. He tries hard to convince everyone that he will be home before they know it but also needs to make sure that they will be okay no matter what.

When he leaves, a huge hole opens up in the Bliss family. The glue that so often bound them together and mediated when they began to unravel has been taken away and no one knows quite what to do. As Alice tries hard to pick up the slack of chores, cooking and keeping Ellie from falling apart, she isn’t quite sure what to do with her feelings of loss, anger and emptiness. She begins to run track which seems, for a fraction of the time, to clear her mind and make her feel normal. When her feet stop running, though, the pain floods in.

While Matt is away Alice continues to bloom into her own, fighting it tooth and nail and waiting for her father to come home and stop missing out. She learns to drive and begins the tenuous steps of first love. She wants desperately to share all of this with her father but the letters and phone calls are becoming few and far between and she is left to navigate her newly developing world by the good sense her father gave her and his whispered voice in her head. She wants to be strong for Matt and help hold the family together so when he gets home everything – her mother and sister, his workshop, their garden – is as he left it. Can she hold her family, and herself, together until and if that happens?

Warning: do not read Alice Bliss without tissues! It has been awhile since a book moved me to tears, but here I am. Alice Bliss is so tender and such a raw story of growing up amidst war that I have a new appreciation for the loved ones left behind. With all the awkwardness that being a teenager entails, this heaped on top seems too much for anyone to bear. But strong, smart, brave Alice Bliss is a testament to how to move through the pain, the loss and the sadness when the one you love most isn’t there.

Rating: 4.5/5

Colleen lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son and pet fish. When not working or taking care of her family she has her nose stuck in a book (and, let’s face it, often when she is working or taking care of her family as well). Nothing excites her more than discovering a new author to obsess over or a hidden jewel of a book to worship.

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

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