Dark Flowers by Caytlyn Brooke

Review based on **Audio** ARC (Advanced Review Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review).

I think this could have been a great book, but the various issues left it at good for me. It is touted as Young Adult Horror, and I think perhaps, if I had been reading it myself or if the narrator had been better, it might have pulled that off. Unfortunately, although the actions were horrific at times (very dark things happen), the tone of the book as read was very light and almost instructional. I felt like a Sunday School Church teacher had been trying to teach a lesson to fifth graders rather than someone reading a horror novel to me. It was quite disconcerting, particularly in the context of the book at times. When someone is committing an act of horror, but it's being talked about as if you were being offered "coffee and bars," it's jarring.

There were also issues with the recording -- it skipped at times, repeated little snippets at times, and, as others have already mentioned, omitted an entire portion of the book in the middle. Frustrating. On top of that, the reader mispronounced a variety of words -- the one that stuck out the most was pronouncing "bared" (as in, "bared teeth") as if it were barred. Oops. That definitely also threw me. In addition, because of the format it was sent in, it kept restarting the chapter (and sometimes the whole book), so I had to keep track of where I was at all times in terms of chapter & minutes/seconds in order to not have as much interruption.

But the story was good. Although there were elements that felt "debut" and amateur, mostly, I think it was a well-thought-out teen horror. The creep-factor is strong, there is definitely gore and psychotic or sociopathic behavior, and supernatural elements. At times it felt a little undirected (for example, some things that I felt would go somewhere ended up not really being relevant to the story), but I nevertheless really wanted to know what happened next, and how it all resolved. For me, there weren't really any great surprises, but I thought it could have been a great, quick read. I would read something else by this author. Unfortunately, however, I would try to avoid listening to this reader again.

overall, THREE of five stars.

Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz

Review based on an ARC (Advanced Readers' Copy received for free in exchange for an honest review). Also note, review based on audio version.

I absolutely loved how this book set itself up. Bibi Blair  is a smart but young author with a lot of potential and a little fame. Her fiancé is a special ops type of army-guy on a radio-silent mission when the book starts. Bibi is going about her normal everyday business when she suddenly tastes something funny and begins to feel a tingling along half of her body. A little longer and various bodily functions stop working on that same side. Although I won't say what precisely is revealed, the set-up of the book is that Bibi is told she has some rare, essentially incurable disease.

She nonetheless recovers quickly and miraculously. Her parents celebrate by sending a psychic/medium to Bibi, telling her to go at it with an open mind. In her experiences with the psychic, it is revealed that Bibi's life was saved in order for her to save another's -- Ashley Bell's. The problem is, Bibi doesn't know any Ashley Bell and the phone book doesn't seem to be helping much.

Follows is an intense cat and mouse type of thriller, where Bibi is rushing to find and save Ashley Bell while others, who are determined she do no such thing, rush to find her and perhaps end her life. There are elements of the supernatural weaved in as well, as Bibi struggles to understand the various experiences that she has had since she was a little girl. However, because of a memory trick taught to Bibi by her grandfather when she was little, Bibi and the reader are not really sure what those experiences are, or how they affect her current chase... we are only relatively certain that they do.

And I can't say much more than that because it would be spoiler and I'm anti-spoiler.

What I loved about the book: the puzzle, the pace (although the audio reader was a bit slow for my preferences, the book's pace was good), and many of the characters. I LOVE Bibi's old professor Solange St. Clair and her old teacher whose name is presently evading me. I also thought that (the bad guy whose name I won't reveal) was well-written and well-done and had a good amount of creepy/angry/disturbing personality. I thought Bibi was a fine, plucky character and her mom was interesting as well. And I also liked her best friend, the brilliant surfer dude. Conversely, I felt that her dad and her fiancé were pretty flat, but I didn't mind that. I didn't think every character needed to be robust. Her grandfather, however, I felt should have been fleshed out a little bit more -- having had such a large role in her childhood, I thought there were some pretty big holes that never felt answered with regard to his life and experiences.

As for the plot, although I loved the set-up, I felt that it started to waver and ultimately fall a little flat in the end. Not completely, but its end was definitely not as strong as its middle. In fact, I think parts of it could have been better had they merely been resolved a bit more quickly. There comes a point when the reader knows exactly what is happening and is fairly certain how it will all turn out... I thought the book took a little too long to conclude once that point occurred.

But overall, I still recommend it. I just recommend it with the caveat that it has a somewhat weak ending.

So overall, a strong THREE out of five stars. Recommended for people who like psychological thrillers with some supernatural elements... with the caveat mentioned above. I also think this probably reads better in a hard copy than the audio version because you can get through it a lot more quickly, and perhaps the lag near the end won't be as noticeable.

The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World by David Jaher

Review based on ARC (Advanced Reader Copy received for free in exchange for an honest review).

This is a book with a fascinating subject: The existence and experience of spirits and seances and whether or not they are real (or were proven to be real and/or false). Houdini, named in the title, himself experimented with so-called psychic experiences, but as he never really did them but happened to be particularly talented at convincing people he was "the real deal," he was particularly skeptical about all others who claimed to in fact be in contact with spirits and/or the dead.

In addition to Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was heavily involved in the whole spirit world - he was an ardent believer of contact with the dead, largely driven by various deaths in his own life and others and the loss of so many people in the recent war and epidemic.

And then there is the famed Witch of Lime Street, the wife of a Boston surgeon. She is young and smart and appears to be genuine.

In addition, Scientific American created a contest to determine whether any psychic could prove his or her merits. And of course Conan wants Margery (the Witch of Lime Street) to enter the contest, and Houdini is on the committee to determine whether she (among others) are legitimate.

So, fascinating, right?! Right up my alley. Interesting historical topic about very interesting people.... and Jaher doesn't do a bad job. He just doesn't do a particularly good job either. I found the book often dragged and spent too much time re-explaining the same inclinations of the various peoples, rather than moving more quickly through the events and analyses. Nonetheless, I enjoyed learning more about the topic and found myself repeating the information I'd learned to others in (somehow) every day topic.

Overall, a good historical account of a fascinating group of people and series of events. I would recommend to people interested in the subject, with the obvious caveat to simply "bear with" the parts that seem to drag.

Overall, THREE of five stars.

Death Before Decaf: A Java Jive Mystery by Caroline Fardig

Free copy received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I felt that this was an "okay" cozy mystery. While I did not particularly enjoy the romantic aspect because I felt that it was a little cliched and clunky, the mystery itself was interesting and novel.

In the book, Juliet Langley has returned to her college town to work for her old crush and former co-worker, the now-owner of local coffee shop Java Jive. Juliet has returned because her life and career have crashed and spectacularly burned after a horrible relationship with an apparently horrible person has ended.

Given Juliet's experience both at Java Jive and in the food industry, her old crush and one of her best friends Pete makes her manager. Juliet, however, does not appear to remotely be a people-person and immediately pisses off pretty much everyone in her employ. This is only made worse when the chef turns up dead.

Juliet is, of course, a prime suspect. In order to try to clear her name, she delves into amateur sleuthing. With the help of a local college professor who seems perhaps much more sinister than at first glance and, of course, Pete, Juliet slowly works through a list of culprits as more people end up dead and Juliet begins to get death threats herself.

So that's the set up and it's a good one. I generally liked the characters and I especially liked Seth (the professor). I did not particularly like that, rather than tale responsibility for her anger issues, Juliet simply called her temper the Red Headed She Devil (Juliet is a red-head)... it was too cutesy and lame as an excuse for her poor people skills. And I did not particularly like the cliched and, somehow, also clunky romantic triangle between Juliet, Pete, and Seth that is rather unsatisfying in the end (though this is a series, so surely there is more to come).

But as I say, the mystery itself was fun and it was a good, quick read for a cold night. I would recommend to "cozy mystery" fans, especially if someone were looking for a softly-steamy romantic one with a fiery protagonist. Overall, THREE of five stars.

Witches Protection Program by Michael Phillip Cash

Book received for free from publisher in exchange for honest review; thanks to NetGalley!

This was a decent supernatural action-adventure book with some interesting characters and a creative plot.

Wes has spent his life being second to all in his family, struggling to prove that he deserves the Rockville family name as a police officer under his father's directorship. Unfortunately, on his first assignment, he makes his first huge mistake, resulting in an escaped prisoner and embarrassment to the Rockville family name. Without giving Wes a second chance, his father transfers him to a different department for his last chance in the force.

With all the pouting, grunting, and moaning to make a 13-year-old teenage girl proud, Wes goes to his new boss. There, Wes discovers that not only are there witches in the world, but they are separated into two factions (the wicked willas and the good davinas) and infiltrate every aspect of every-day-living (including hollywood and the tabloids). Grumbling every step along the way, Wes accompanies his new boss Alastair to meet an old davina Junie, who expresses her concern over what appears to be a huge willa plot.

Enter Morgan Pendragon - heir to a multi-billion dollar cosmetics corporation currently run by her aunt - and the story is on its way. Morgan is an apparent davina who is doing nothing more than just trying to stay under the radar; unfortunately, her aunt wants her to hand over the rights to run the company and Morgan does everything in her... power... to avoid doing just that. However, because of what Junie knows and Alastair/Wes suspect, Morgan will soon have to confront her aunt and her wishes, face to face.

The plot is fast, the pace is well done, and the story is fun. I liked Alastair and Scarlett (the aunt's #1 protege) in particular - they were very well written and not quite as... predictable as the others. I also thought some of the minor characters were nice additions -- Jasmine and Wu to name a couple -- and I liked some of the less conventional mini-sub-plots that Cash (author) threw in there.

What I didn't love as much were the often-stilted conversations, the over-stereotypical behaviors of many of the characters (Morgan and her aunt, in particular), and the incredibly immature, unbelievably whiney and snarky Wes who was, unfortunately, the main character of the story.

Fortunately, Wes does show some growth throughout the book and ends up much more mature and respectful by the end of the book -- which I do think was the point.

Overall, a fun, fast read that I'd recommend to anyone who felt that the plot was right up their alley. I expect this to be a series based on how it was set up, and I would definitely be curious to see how it continues!
THREE of five stars

A bunch of minis

Soul Tracker

Here's Amazon's synopsis (it's better than what I would write at this point :)):
What if you could visit heaven and hell, traveling when and wherever you wish . . . without ever dying? What if your teenage daughter, the joy of your life, had died a tragic death and you discovered a way to visit her? What if there were people and beings, on both sides of the grave, who want to stop your return? These are the questions facing novelist David Kauffman. As a single parent he is devastated when his young daughter meets an untimely death. Desperate to contact her, he meets Gita Patekar, a beautiful and committed Christian with a scarred and shame-ridden past. She works for “Life After Life”―an organization dedicated to tracking and recording the experiences of the soul once it leaves the body. Despite Gita’s warnings that God is opposed to contacting the dead, David uses the organization’s computer to try to find his daughter. In the process they discover Gita’s organization has some very deep and dark secrets. A suspense-filled game of cat and mouse begins―both on earth and beyond the grave―as the couple work together, fall in love, and struggle to expose the truth . . . until they come face to face with the ultimate Love and Truth.

my brief thoughts: I really enjoyed this! The writing is not spectacular (it's not bad, it's just a little simple), but the pacing is good, the plot is interesting, and the characters are relatable and engaging. I read this book quickly, and I am definitely looking forward to the 2nd and 3rd in the series!
FOUR out of five stars. 

Americanah



I thought the first half was very interesting, but the second half felt more like the author's blog/autobiography/expose on race. It had potential, certainly, but, IMHO, could have used a stronger editor.
THREE out of five stars.







The Island of Dr. Libris




I liked the end a lot, but the bulk of the book was unoriginal and lazy - relying on already written characters and literary tropes to move along a slow plot.
THREE out of five stars.






Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs



I was just altogether unimpressed with this. It felt like the author thought s/he was really clever, but s/he really was not. So, instead of 7 dwarves, there are 77, so her chores are neverending. So, after 1 day, she seeks out the evil queen for some sleep. ?! But the illustrations were nicely done! :)
TWO out of five stars.




Betsy's Story, 1934
It was cute and I thought it picked up the pace and ended well. I "saw it coming" pretty early, though I am definitely an adult reading a kid's book in this case ;) It's about a rich little girl in England and her cousin in America who's lost her fortune and is struggling. And the rich little girl in England (Betsy) knows that there are additional secrets, some good and some bad, that are being kept from her by her mother and, seemingly, her relatives and/or house-servants. So she sets out trying to discover the secrets before the adults deem it time for her to know them.

The little girl was headstrong (she is 11 going on 12) and entitled and unaware of real life, it seemed. But she was sincere in her desire to help those less fortunate than herself when presented with the opportunity. Her intentions were often misguided and, well, childish of course, but she seemed eager to do right and understand more so she could do more. I thought there were interesting morals at play here, but the overall story seemed to be ... I don't know, too black and white, too simple, too abrupt, even for the appropriate age.

But like I said, cute and sweet and an ok way to pass a little time. :)

THREE and a half of five stars. 

The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

I just didn't like it. I acknowledge that it's well written, so I can't give it a terrible rating. But it's Sooooo utterly dark and angry and depressing. It's "good".... but really wasn't enjoyable for me. Maybe if I had read more uplifting books lately, I wouldn't have felt so dragged down by it, but I came off of a couple of dark, angry books and ... honestly, when I finally finished the (200 page!) book, I could hardly bring myself to pick up another book.... (so glad I chose [The Martian]!!)

It's about ... well, it's weird because it's NOT about a magic toyshop. So, yeah, there's that. There's a toyshop, but ... there's no magic there. There's a hint of maybe supernatural or gothic or something ... like 3 times. Just a hint. But that's it. And ... it's easy to chalk it up to exhaustion, imagination, stress... rather than ANYthing supernatural at all. So you think you're reading a book about magic, but it's just not.

Melanie loses her folks and has to go live with her uncle in a dirty, poor part of London. Her formerly rich and lavish life takes a severe nosedive as she attempts to navigate a world in which the patriarch is an abusive, angry, oppressive force. And poor 15-year-old Melanie struggles with not being the loved, pretty, spoiled girl she once was, as her 12-year-old brother withdraws further into himself and her 5-year-old sister essentially forgets her former life. Along with her uncle are his mute wife (who is only ever referred to as "dumb") and her two brothers, one of whom Melanie finds herself simultaneously repulsed by and drawn to. And the uncle is a toy maker who hates many of his customers, and he is obsessed with life-sized puppets, which is creepy and weird.

So yeah. It's like a creepy, weird, dark, depressing story about terrible things happening to people. Terrible things.  But yes, it is well written. Carter has a talent.

So overall, three of 5 stars. Not enjoyable, but well done, if the story sounds like your kind of thing (and it apparently is for a LOT of people who really love this book).

I Am Sophie Tucker: A Fictional Memoir by Susan Ecker & Lloyd Ecker

Review based on ARC.

Sophie Tucker was undoubtably a fascinating person. She seemed to know anyone who was anyone... from Al Pacino to Arthur Conan Doyle to ... well, herself! And this fictional memoir seemed intriguing. I didn't know much about Tucker going into it -- more a recognition of the name than anything else. But I thought it sounded intriguing... a murder mystery, an insider's look at early Hollywood (or, at least, earlier...), the world of Vaudeville.... ok, sign me up!

And... it delivered. to some degree. So, fictional memoir. What was I expecting? I don't know, something more akin to Devil in the White City, I guess... a sort of novelization of real events. An adding of thoughts and emotions -- a researcher's best guess -- and maybe that's what this was. But it seemed a lot more fictional than that. It *felt* like someone was creating a whole persona for a real person. Which just felt weird. It felt like someone had decided THIS must be Sophie Tucker's *real* personality -- her behind-the-scenes personality.  And.... it was unsettling to me.

It felt surface. It felt false. It felt over-simplified. Like, rather two-dimensional. And,  I understand the authors did an inordinate amount of research, and had scrapbooks and many items of Sophie's own words to pull from... so perhaps Sophie was really just a two-dimensional person? Seems far-fetched. Much more far-fetched than the so-called "life and times of Sophie Tucker."

And that was my other complaint. Eyebrow-raising, inward gasping, behind-the-scenes reveals? meh. I get that this was a long time ago, and our standards are different now... but it still felt like this fictional character was going from "hey hey, listen to this CRaaaaay-zee story about me!" to yet another and another... nothing felt organic or ... well, real.

Buuut.... It was Interesting. It was somewhat satisfying to read about that time from a so-called insider's perspective. It was ok. I didn't love Sophie; I didn't hate her. I didn't really feel that particularly strongly about anyone except for her first husband.

As for the others... were they husbands? It felt like a lot was left out. How did she meet her 3rd husband? What happened? How did they break? What about the 2nd .... how did that become, er, formal? (did I just miss that altogether?) So yeah, it was the organization. The organization needed work. And as a result, the story suffered.

But it was ok. And if you're really interested in Sophie Tucker's life, from an arguably inside perspective... check it out.  The memoir is pretty consistent from beginning to end, so if you don't like the first few chapters, then you won't like it. If you do, you will.

Overall, three of five stars.

Sanctum (Asylum #2) by Madeleine Roux

Sanctum is a fine sequel to Asylum.  Not amazing. Not terrible.  Like Asylum, Sanctum is a very quick read; like Asylum, Sanctum has many holes. But, if you read it quickly enough, you almost don't notice the holes and you almost don't mind the lack.

So, what's it about: Dan continues to have weird nightmares and day-mares relating back to the history of Brookline and its warden. His contact with Jordan and Abby has started to fade, and Dan is eager to resolve the issues he's having with both his friendships and his obsession with Brookline.  The three decide to return to New Hampshire College, pretending to be prospies, interested in actually going to college there.

So that's weird. Like, return to the place where you almost died? Sure, yeah, believable. And since it's not, the whole premise is weak. BUT, as I say, it's a quick read. We *quickly* run through all kinds of creepy experiences, hallucinations, and dreams. We meet a handful of new, suspicious characters.  We are introduced to a whole new society of people. And although it's all rather surface, it's enjoyable to read.  I read it in just a few hours, and I will definitely pick up the next one (yep, there's a next one).

I enjoy these. They're not amazing, but they're enjoyable quick reads.

Recommended to someone looking for a creepy escape on a dreary day...
THREE of five stars

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Wasn't blown away... thought it was a disappointing sequel, but still good.

What I didn't like:
I was disappointed in the pace and the plot.. it felt artificially manufactured to create tension, as opposed to those stories where the tension feels real... And I think that might have been in part because of how I felt abo
ut the pictures this round... it felt that at many points, the author was creating words to fit a picture he wanted to add--when it didn't really add to the plot or the characters or the pacing or really anything.

I was also annoyed by the romantic aspect, but disregard that if you like that kind of thing ;) To me, it's always annoying when it's over-the-top cheesy, and I had a hard time finding it realistic in the atmosphere -- ya know, life or death.

I thought that the characters spent WAY too much time NOT using the peculiarities they've spent a LONG time having when they were confronted with danger... I know, in some cases it made sense, but in others it was like this weird inexplicable delay. And I felt that the development of Jacob's peculiarity, while the rest of us could see it coming 100 miles away, took WAY too long to FINALLY show its face.

And I'll say, I just did not like the near-ending. But what and why are spoilers :)

What I did like:
It's still just an interesting concept and I like the idea of having a story with realistic (ish) pictures accompanying it. I really liked some of the development of characters (Bronwyn and Olive in particular), and I liked the addition of some of the new characters (Peter-and-Joel and Joel-and-Peter). I also thought that Riggs had good ideas and some of his plot development was really interesting. Although I felt the pace was off and forced at times, there were other times when it flowed quite nicely -- particularly when they meet.... Althea (I'll say no more).

If you just loved the first, it's likely worth it to read the 2nd. If you can ignore some of the deficiencies, my guess is you'll probably even really enjoy the second! (a lot of people sure have :))  Otherwise, the above notes may give you just the amount of "managed expectations" needed to enjoy the book anyway :)

Raven Girl by Audrey Niffenegger

I did not enjoy The Time Traveler's Wife. But I wanted to give Niffenegger another chance because I felt like she had some potential. And I admit up front that Raven Girl is not the "other chance" I intend to give... but I was open to Niffenegger's book because of my intention to give her another chance. And this is a dark modern fairy tale for adults.

It was ok. It was weird in some places, and not that good, creepy weird like Coraline or Creepy Suzie. Just weird-weird like... and I'm sorry I couldn't ignore it... how did the bird and the mailman conceive a child?

But whatever, it's a modern fairy tale so they just did... And thus is born Raven Girl. I enjoyed the story well enough. It didn't make me mad or annoyed or anything. I read it so quickly (half hour?) that I didn't really have time to ponder the holes. It wasn't until after that I started thinking about them. And why they existed. And why Niffenegger did what she did. And since that all came after, I decided that it really was just fine.

So I'd recommend to people who are looking for a quick modern dark fairy tale, who don't mind some holes in the plot or weird decisions. And I'll still give Niffenegger her other chance... I've got [Her Fearful Symmetry] on the shelves...

THREE of five stars.

The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Review based on ARC (NetGalley) - originally via publisher contest.

I'm a pretty big fan of the One for the Money series by Evanovich, so I was excited to hear she'd begun a new series involving a tough heroine who is a highly trained FBI agent.

I'm a pretty big fan, I say, but I don't think that Evanovich's writing is "high literature."  So I'm not coming into this with heightened expectations as far as the writing is concerned.  I like the One for the Money series because we can't take Stephanie Plum too seriously, because Stephanie Plum doesn't take herself too seriously, and because she finds herself in all kinds of awkward, entertaining, humiliating, and interesting situations.  They're fun and quick reads.

I know nothing of Lee Goldberg... far as I was concerned, I was reading an Evanovich.  And I also didn't know that this was the Second in a series until rather near the end of the book.  This was just the first I'd heard of this new series, and yes please! I'd love a free copy to review!

So all of that is to essentially say that I don't really know what went wrong here.  It's not terrible at all.  Really.  But it's not particularly good.  There isn't that spark that Evanovich has in her Plum series.  It's just kind of blase meandering from one high-action, high-stakes heist in one country, to another high-action, high-stakes heist in another (or, sure on a plane in mid-air...).  Right?! It sounds interesting!  It sounds like you're going to read this fun and engaging book, a step or two up from Plum, about a badass FBI chick and her quarry, flying to fun and dangerous places, doing fun and dangerous things.  And technically that is this book.

But, I don't know, it just kind of fell flat.  The humor that works so well with Plum didn't work for Kate O'Hare, the tension that works so well with Joe Morelli just didnt' work for Nicholas Fox.

But it wasn't bad either.  There was a lot of activity, a lot of punching, some interesting new plot-twists, some interesting new characters (I like the peripherals a bit), and it went pretty quick.  And I commend the authors for writing a 2nd in a series that was not so dependent on the 1st that I constantly felt like I was left out of the inside jokes or plot... As I say, I didn't even realize this was a 2nd in a series until near the end.

So, overall, I'd recommend to fans as Evanovich-Lite.  This'll get you through to the next Plum release, but it's not going to be your new favorite... you're definitely going to want to go back to Plum.

THREE of five stars.

Playing Catch-up

I'm going to do somewhat-mini reviews on the following, and then try to get back to normal!

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed


I loved this book.  I started hiking a few years ago with my sister.  We've only done what regular hikers consider "easy" or "moderately easy" trails.  I would consider myself more prepared than Cheryl was on her big hike.  Now, to be fair, I do happen to know (in-laws) someone who hiked a large portion of the Appalachian Trail (and was VERY well prepared), so I may know a little more than the average amateur dabbling hiker.  But still.  Strayed was so severely unprepared it was... well, it was funny.

Strayed did well what I believe very few memoir-ists are able to accomplish:  She told her story in a compelling, humorous, deferential, emotional, sincere manner that made her both endearing and likeable.  She told her story in a way that begged to be read.  She made it interesting.

Wild made me want to hike, be a trail-angel, buy hotel rooms for hikers, bring food to hikers... and it made me appreciate my life, my family, and my friends.  It is a wonderful tale and I highly recommend it.  This was a book club selection (for April), and I eagerly await the other members' reactions!

Night Film by Marisha Pessl


Oh man.  Night Film is one of my new favorite books.  I think I might be lucky that I was able to read it on a very laid back vacation... because I read the nearly 600 pages over the course of only 3 days.  As a result, the ambiance and the story and the nuances weren't lost on me.  This is another book club selection (March), and I am very curious if my ability to read it in such a condensed timeframe made the book better...

Regardless... yes, this book is about (none of this is spoiler -- this is intro/first chapters type information): a spoiled brat rich kid, the daughter of a famous highly eccentric very dark film maker.  The kid kills herself, spurning the journalist (who, in an attempt to discredit her father, was himself discredited in his career) to pursue this huge story.  Because of this journalist's raw talent and prior history with the subject matter, he seems to be a step ahead of the other people who may be attempting to "get this story."  SUCH an over-simplification of the story, but that's the bones of it.

This is my first Pessl.  I am so impressed.  She created the perfectly creepy (but never quite scary) atmosphere, a tangle of questions that seem to have partial and flawed answers, and just a darn good story.  She populated her story with interesting, three-dimensional characters who you had feelings about (not all positive, which adds depth).  This book is full of darkness, humans who act in the worst of ways, blood, maybe murder, psycho- and socio-pathic tendencies... and hope.

This was one of those books where I slowed down my reading to savor the treat of it.  I was SO pleased to be reading this book.  And for me... I was SO satisfied when it was all done.  Highly recommend.

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson


Well, to be fair to Buncle, I had just come off of Wild and Night Film, so Buncle had some telling to live up to!  Miss Buncle's Book is cute and fun and ok.  It wasn't terrific, it certainly wasn't terrible.

Miss Buncle lives in a small countryside-ish type town in England.  She has money troubles so she writes a book in an attempt to solve them.  However, Miss Buncle cannot (as she says) write about something about which she has no knowledge.  So she writes about her town and the people within it.  The publisher loves the novel, thinks it's either the work of a simpleton or a genius, and seeks to publish it in short order, under a pen name for Buncle, to protect the not-so-innocent.  The name of the town and the name of the characters have, of course, all been changed, but it is clear to the townsfolk that they are the subject of the book.  As might be anticipated, chaos ensues.  The townspeople are in an uproar about the book and react in humorous, over-the-top, caricature-like fashion.

The book is a sweet little thing, a quick read, a pleasant romp through this 1940s (I think -- around that time) small town in England.  The personalities are strong, the story is fun, and it was an entertaining way to pass the afternoon.

Not spectacular, but recommended for readers to whom the above-paragraph appeals.

The City & the City by China Mieville


Phew!  I've been meaning to read Mieville for years.  This was my first Mieville, and what an introduction!  I understand from having read other reviews that this is not the most typical of Mieville... But I think I get the picture.

So, I was about 30-40 pages in, and I had to stop reading to do some research on what the F was happening.  The story is about two cities that share the same space on a map, but which do not engage with one another at ALL, without express permission from the appropriate governmental authorities.  If citizens of one city interacts with the other city at ALL without such permission, a "breach" is deemed to have occurred.  A murder happens in one city, and the detective assigned to the case believes that breach is involved.  In such a case, an entity that oversees even the governments of the two cities--itself called Breach--takes over.  The detective proceeds thusly, but there are, of course, complications of the factual-type, the political-type, the potentially-supernatural-type, etc.

After about 30-40 pages,  I still could not figure out if the two cities were interposed on one another in some kind of magical way (as I had assumed upon first reading the description of the book), or if it was a political/governmental separation, involving no magic.  I read one review that said that at about 70 pages, it becomes more clear and sorts itself out.  So I kept reading.  At about 70 pages, I still felt like my question was answered.  Frankly, I think it is HELPFUL and makes for a better read of the book if you understand which is happening, so I will tell you.  But I will couch it in SPOILER protections in case you don't want to know ;)

The Spoiler (highlight with your cursor/mouse to see):  They are in the same location on a map and are in the same place physically and there's nothing magical about it.  THAT is, frankly, one of the things that I think is so brilliant about this book.  I've lived in a very big city, and when you live in that big city, you stop noticing people as individual persons and start just treating them as physical objects you pass.  Take that and mix with it a sort of Dr.-Seuss-Stars-on-Chest mentality, then make it serious and brilliant, and you have The City & the City. Something happened years ago, we never know what and the characters in the story are not clear, the the two cities were either merged or split, thus creating the current situation.  There are two cities, governmentally, mentally, and in every single other way, except physically.  Certain portions of the geography are exclusively in 1 city OR the other, and various portions are in both, or what they call "cross-hatched."  In a cross-hatched portion of the city, one building in 1 city could be immediately next to a building in the other city, or one floor in a building could be above a floor in another building. In these cross-hatched portions, the cars drive on the same road, but they have to act as if the other does not exist.  You can imagine what happens in ambulance-type situations!  But Mieville pulls this off and makes it believable.

And then, overseeing the two cities is Breach.  And involved in this whole murder mystery is the question of whether Breach is good or bad, real or perhaps imaginary, supernatural or political, in a war with another potentially existent supernatural-or-not "city"in the cracks..... It's so complicated and SO well done and SO recommended.

The Case of the Constant Suicides by John Dickson Carr


This is a fun classic murder mystery.  What I really liked about this one is that it was FUN!  It was funny, light, and moved quickly.  There weren't long and involved explanations of the scenery or drawn-out descriptions of the personalities... it was just a story that quickly moved from one scene to the next, creating, complicating, and then resolving the mystery.

In the book, several people have been called to a castle in Scotland for a "family meeting" to discuss the death and after-affect of a certain family member.  There is a dispute about whether the man committed suicide or was murdered and the various characters are quickly drawn into the activity, the mystery, and the frivolity.

Recommended for people looking for a quick and fun classic murder mystery.

Just Checking: Scenes from the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive by Emily Colas


And finally, Just Checking.  I bought this book SO many years ago because I have some interesting tendencies toward OCD and because a quick peruse of the book made me laugh (i.e., she is funny, not that I was laughing at her).

I finally re-picked up this book and read it from front to back.  It did not quite live up to its expectations.  Emily Colas is writing mini David Sedaris'esque essays on her life.  It is somewhat chronological, though often flips between her past and her present, in an effort to make a single point.

Some of the essays are funny.  Some are sad.  Some are enraging or depressing.  Emily Colas indulged in her ocd and those around her did the same.  She managed a marriage and motherhood despite her rather severe (at least at times) inclinations.  Although she appeared toward the end (and in the afterward interview) to have finally made some progress and address the issue (e.g., seeing a doctor; taking medication), it took her a LONG time and a LOT of heartache to get there.

I think that this book is probably a good read for people who know people with OCD, to help understand the disease a little better.  Colas seems to be pretty (at times, embarrassingly) honest and definitely self-depricating (i.e., not making things sound better than they actually were) and I think provides a good understanding of those people with the disease who have NOT sought to address the problem.  There are certainly amusing moments, and there were definitely stories to which I could relate.

Overall, the book just fell a little flat because she was just not particularly likeable and the reader was left frustrated with her lack of willingness to do anything for herself.  So, a kind of hit and miss, overall.  Not terrible, somewhat useful, somewhat entertaining, and somewhat recommended.

IOU

Book Updates
I've had a BUSY reading month in February and, as a result, IOU Reviews on the following:

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed 

Night Film by Marisha Pessl 

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson 

The City & the City by China Mieville 

The Case of the Constant Suicides by John Dickson Carr 

Just Checking: Scenes from the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive by Emily Colas 

To come... hopefully soon!

Reading Updates

Also, I've joined the ROOTS group on LibraryThing - which is where members commit to Read Our Own Tomes.  For my first year, I've committed to 24 books, and count all books that came into the house 2013 or before, which I read in 24.  My status so far:



I've also joined the Goodreads reading challenge, and for 2014, I've committed to read 36 books.  My status so far:



I'm well on my way!

Contaminated by Em Garner

Review based on ARC

I was looking forward to the gritty aftermath... the trouble starting all over again... the zombie book with a new spin.  Aaaaand... maybe the series as a whole will offer that.  But this book itself didn't quite live up to what I was expecting based on the book's description.

In Contaminated, Velvet, the main character, is a 17-yr-old dystopian heroine with missing parents and a somewhat typical 10-year old-sister to talk care of.  The "zombies" are people who drank a diet drink that was poorly made, causing people to become mindless raging ... well, zombies.  And Velvet's mom was one of the "connie's" who will be released back to her family if her family claims her.  Velvet finds her and brings her home.  What follows is a difficult life, discrimination, and challenges that the strong heroine faces with gusto.

I'm cool with the backdrop - I like new spins on old tales.  I liked how I Am Legend spun with science.  LOVE that kind of stuff, actually.  So I was really looking forward to this.

But most of the novel was day-to-day.. memories.. stories.  It wasn't the adrenaline-laced "oh no! it's happening again?!" novel that I was expecting, so much as a narrative of life after all the excitement happened two years ago...  The cover and the title lead the reader to think that this is action, gore, guts, and CONTAMINATED zombie-like humans!  But perhaps "My mom is a Connie" would have been a better title, to give the potential-reader more of a sense that the book is almost more of a lesson-book.  A book on discrimination, on governmental reaction and politics.  A book on family ties and strength of character.  All fine and dandy, but just fell a little flat for me.  It was somewhat interesting and well-written, but not an attention-grabber or a sleep-stealer.

Garner has set this up to be the first in a series.  Like many series, the first book may be more introductory, and the second and others following may have the action that I was expecting in this one.   I hope so..  And, indeed, the end of this book was where it started to really pick up and become intriguing.

So I recommend the book to young adults -- teens.  I liked the strong and fairly realistic protagonist.  I liked the potential that was laid with this book, and I liked the backdrop.  I am definitely curious about the 2nd book, but I may not be there on opening night....

THREE out of five stars.

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

Review based on ARC

I've started this review, scratched it, thought about it, re-started...

It's a difficult review for me because I felt so strongly about the mediocrity of the book.  It's definitely not bad.  It's not badly written, it's not badly plotted, it's not badly character driven... but it's not good either.  I was very disappointed only because what I had read going in led me to believe this would be something special.  I was very excited to be picked for this book, but unfortunately the excitement ended then.

What's good:  the book is a very quick read, and there are characters or moments where you really care.  The mystery-aspect of the book is intriguing and I definitely needed to know "what next."  It was easy to read the prose, and I flew through the pages quickly.

What's not:  the book is altogether unconvincing.  It is unconvincing as a history novel, it is unconvincing as a love story, and it is unconvincing as a tale about the bonds of family.  The book is written in letters primarily between "Sue" and Davey and between Margaret and Mother.  The "voices" of each of the characters, however, were not distinct from each other (or, not enough to matter).  The only way you got a sense of things was in the narrators' description of someone else -- i.e., I didn't learn as much about _____'s personality from their OWN letter as I did from a letter by someone else writing about _____.  It was only by descriptions of others that personalities emerged.

Also, the letters employed overly-obvious and unrealistic conversation -- i.e., if my sister were to call me and I said "oh! hello big sister who lives in Chicago! It's so nice to hear from you again after just a week!"  No one talks like that.  There were several moments like that in the book, where there was over-explanation and no subtlety.

Additionally, the complete lack of self-awareness of ALL of the writers, combined with the complete obliviousness of each of the characters was infuriating and not particularly believable.  Perhaps a character or two in a situation would have that complete lack of self-awareness or awareness of others... but every single character? Oh, of course with the exception of the all-wise grandmother/mother or the good-for-nuthin' brother, who play disappointingly minor roles.

What I disliked the most, however, is something that probably won't bother as many people as it did me.  [SPOILER (highlight)] The infidelity with no apologies, excusing the behavior with self-righteous, childish "I want it" mentality.  It felt like the author was living out an internal fantasy.  [END SPOILER]

All in all... it was disappointing, but it had a bit of intrigue.  As I said, there were aspects of the book that I cared about; it was a quick read; there were minor portions of the familial relationships that were interesting; and it was not a flop.

So, THREE of five stars.  Recommended for people who particularly enjoy long-distance romances and historical romances.

A Dual Inheritance by Joanna Hershon

Review based on ARC.

Like many other readers of this book, I really did want to love it.  I have recently been through Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and Rules of Civility, both of which I thought were really quite great.  And coming away from those and into another book introduced in the same vein -- the glamorization of historical wealth and/or the striving of characters to reach it and the pitfalls along the way -- this one just fell short.

The characters are interesting *enough,* the plot is interesting *enough,* and the writing is certainly good *enough,* it just didn't wrap me up into the stories the way other recently read books did.

So, about this one... The main characters are poor jewish ambitious materially minded Ed Cantowitz and rich disillusioned laid back save-the-world Hugh Shipley.  And of course they become best friends.  And of course they fall for the same girl.  And of course their lives are intertwined, even in ways that are not expected.  And none of that was particularly ground-breaking, nor did I need it to be.  But the story of it all.... well, I need more than just interesting facts and interesting characters.  The story needs to come alive.  And for me, with this one, it had a difficult time of it.  There were moments, certainly, but in the end I didn't really feel for the characters.

The first portion of the book covers Ed and Hugh's first few years as friends at Harvard in the 60s, and it is interesting enough.  The 60s and 70s are such an interesting timeframe.  But Ed and Hugh's differences seem to be at the forefront of Hershon's focus, rather than their friendship and the interesting conversations they could have had, the interesting perspectives they could have gained from one another, or the interesting experiences they could have gained from their friendship.  As someone who has had friends just about as polar opposite from myself as you can get--I know that the relationships have the potential to have depth and interest.

And yes, I know that the times, they were a-different back then, but some things are true about friendships: the differences fade away.  And yes, they resurface from time to time, sometimes in very painful ways, but I felt like Hershon just couldn't get *past* the differences.  I get it, Ed was poor and unprivileged, and Hugh was rich and privileged.  I get it, Hugh was attractive and soft-spoken and Ed was short, stocky, and aggressive.  But they both had a hopeful outlook on life and they both had a love of the "new" and I felt like not enough was done to play up these similarities.

Overall, it was a fine book, and I really enjoyed the story after it changed perspectives to Ed and Hugh's daughters, years later, best friends in boarding school.  Although the transition felt disjointed and awkward, the relationships and their evolution were interesting to me.

In the end, I felt that the book made a great effort, but that the payoff was not as rewarding as I had hoped.  It was a little depressing, a little agressive, and dragged a little at times.  Having it compared to Rules of Civility does Dual Inheritance a disservice.  They have different energies, different focuses, and different purposes.  But I would recommend the book -- to people who want to read something more dense, who are interested in the more depressing sides of lives, and who have the time and energy to devote to a book that covers 5 decades and many characters' lives in about 500 pages.

THREE of five stars.

White Mountain by Sophie Tallis

Review based on ARC.

In the end, it fell at three.
While I read this book, my feelings toward it changed often and dramatically.  I felt that the beginning warranted closer to four stars, portions of the middle were great, portions were good, and portions were frustrating.  And the end redeemed itself a little.

This book falls squarely in the "fantasy" camp.  Three friends a/k/a companions find themselves on a Lord of the Rings -esque trek across a large version of our world (or else the dragon flies remarkably slow).  Wizard Marval/Marvalla/M Agyk (a-hem) a/k/a the Green Wizard, dragon Gralen, and witch Wendya encounter incredibly extreme situation after incredibly extreme scenario, fighting for their lives at every turn, eventually leading to a fifty-or-so page "climactic" fight for the known universe.  In between each of these incredibly extreme situations falls lengthy and involved descriptions of scenery with spatterings of "normal" conversation among(st) the friends.

The book includes "dworlls" (dwarfs), ellfrn (elves), dragons/draken (dragons/baby dragons), dwelf (cross-elves and dwarfs), wizards and witches, and various dark creatures/spirits/monsters such as dark mytes (demonic/spirit-like giant beetles), wargols (troll-like entities), and sauron..er, Morreck/m'Sorreck himself.

Right.  That's one of the major issues I had with this book... not the various creatures. Like I said, I'm a fantasy-girl.  The issue is that it felt like a regurgitated LOTR w/ some Harry Potter thrown in.  Except with HP5-level immaturity and tantrums.  M Agyk (I cringed every time I read it) was Gandalf (with some Dumbledore thrown in) .. except instead of being the "Grey" Wizard, he was Green.  Wendya was the generic protagonist/Harry Potter (does not yet know (a) how strong she is or (b) about her twisted past).  Gralen was Samwise/Ronald Weasley/Hagrid.  Of course there are great differences, of course they are not actually the same characters.. but there were SO many times that I thought "uh-huh, LOTR" or "oh, there's HP!"

Additionally, M Agyk's thousand, Gralen's many hundreds, and even "young" Wendya's several hundred years on this planet have not stopped them from making amateur/adolescent mistakes.  There were essentially tantrums, pouts, and clumsy dealings with the challenges, rather than the maturity and broad vision that would be expected from someone with at the least several hundred years of life on them.  Indeed, the whole book might have been less frustrating to read if the three leads were in the late teens or early twenties. Just that -- and publishing as a YA -- would make the book seem "appropriate."

Nevertheless, there is promise with the author and the series.  The descriptions, while long and sometimes gratuitous, DID bring the landscape to life and created a colorful and three-dimensional picture in my head.  The loooong battle at the climax of the tale was surprisingly well done - moving between the different locations of the fighters somewhat effortlessly and mostly convincingly.  Certain of the characters were even endearing and all of the characters were well-described, if not very well developed.  It was easy to turn the page.  I did want to know what happened next.  I did  tense up during the battle scenes.

Moreover, I felt that Tallis nailed the oracle scene and Agyk's first interaction with Morreck.  Those scenes fall into "great."  If she had limited the sheer number of life-threatening situations in one book to just a couple, if she had limited her descriptions (or, really, the need for such descriptions) to just a few (no need to cover the whole world in book 1 of a trilogy), if she had been just a little more realistic with the whole love-triangle bit (what works in a cartoon does not necessarily work in a novel), and if she had instead taken that space to develop the characters' characters (heh heh) a little more, I think the book could easily jump a star.

As is often the case w/ new fantasy writers, the second book may be leagues ahead of the 1st.  I would recommend the book to YA-fantasy readers looking for something to bring back thoughts of HP and LOTR, and I would recommend to die-hard fantasy fans who aren't particular about polished writing.
Overall, THREE of five stars.

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch

This book was, apparently, the third in a series.  Having read it out of turn, the mystery stands on its own, but some of the side points were left unexplained -- the fact that the author did not re-explain every interesting point is something I definitely would have appreciated, had I read the first two books.  In this one, it left me wondering, but did not interrupt the story.

Semi-rookie Peter Grant investigates crimes in London when "other" explanations are required.  His partner Lesley wears a mask because, as she explains at the beginning of the book, her face fell off.  I imagine this whole story is encompassed in book 2, but in book 3, it merely adds to the overall ambience of the book.  Nightingale is their boss and they live at the Folly with Molly, who I assume is their ghost housekeeper (again, probably detailed in a prior book).

The mystery in this book is fun and Aaronovitch spends time going through the hoops of crime investigation.  It's an entertaining read for a saturday afternoon or a plane ride (where I did most of my reading).

On the cover is a portion of a review that claims that this book is the perfect mix of Harry Potter and CSI.  As a Harry Potter fan, I beg to differ.  This book is more like the Dresden Files, without the same level of darkness or angry wry humor, and with more investigation and cop-speak.  I can only assume the Harry Potter reference on the cover is due to a few Harry Potter references throughout the book itself, and the fact that there are wizards and "fae."  Perhaps if I had read books 1 and 2 I might understand the comparison more -- being brought through a new world and learning of magical creatures as the main character does is part of the magic of Harry Potter.  Harry Grant spends more effort not being shocked because cops are supposed to know  more than the public and, necessarily, an element of wonder is absent.

Overall, I enjoyed Aaronovitch's sense of humor (quite a lot at times), and I appreciated the distinctly london feel and dialect.  I would recommend the book, particularly to someone who is interested in a detective solving crimes involving the supernatural.

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon

Review based on ARC:

Also, my book group, Desert Girls, read the book.  See the group's review at desertgirlsbooks.blogspot.com.

I thought the book was OK.  I didn't hate it, but I found it cliched and predictable.

I found the characters to be somewhat dull and 2-dimensional, and a lot of them seemed to have a lot of anger and negativity.  The so-called best friend of the protagonist seems to love her friend by offering good advice, but seems to turn her back on the emotional sufferings and baggage of bad decisions.  She was a friend who seemed present only when it was convenient for her to be so.  The various "mother" figures in the book were interesting and ... well, probably the only likeable characters that were really there. 

The writing and the story-telling, however, were quite good.  I thought Gideon did a *great* job interweaving various social networking, texting, emailing, etc. to tell the story.  I also felt that there were a lot of realistically drawn characters, but I felt that the "resolution" was altogether too easy for the lack of self-reflection and growth the characters seemed to exhibit or experience in the story.

Overall, I would recommend to someone who likes suburban stories about the emotional struggles that we experience as a result of our own decisions.  The book isn't challenging, but it's funny at times, light at times, thoughtful at times, and written well enough to not throw.