Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

Review based on ARC.

I was so excited when I won this book.  And then I was even more excited when I read the first 10 pages and realized it.  was gonna be.  awesome.

I was so excited, in fact, that I told anyone who would listen what I was reading, what it was about, and what I thought about it.

Many of my friends said they couldn't wait to read it, and a fair number of those even finished first.
That was the worst part about my experience with this book -- I got SO busy between reading those first 10 pages and reading the last 10 pages that I couldn't just SIT and absorb it all at once.

But that's also one of the things that was so impressive about the book.  During my absences, Zelda and Scott's lives would merely pause, waiting for me to return.  And upon my return, we picked right back up, as if we had not lost any time.. just as you would with an old friend.

This is an impressive historical fiction piece.  Fowler clearly did her research, but so much more impressive is the absolutely believable, perfectly flawed, larger than life and exactly every day life, enraging and endearing characters that Fowler lifted out of the pages of history and put to life, dancing and fighting, drinking and arguing, laughing and crying, right on the pages in front of you.

Not only were the characters fresh and alive and warm and cold and just so tangible, but the writing was insightful as well.  Perhaps Fowler got it wrong.  Maybe Z was more casebook schizophrenic.  Maybe she was straight-up crazy.  Maybe Scott was brilliant and Z just brought him down.  But it didn't matter.  Fowler's story is believable and complete.  Maybe it's not 100% accurate -- I don't believe any of us knows.  But Fowler's story is one that I can accept, that I can believe.  And it certainly felt more likely, more feasible, and more real than other renditions I've heard or read over the years.  In the end, Fowler admits that it's a novelization, but as I walked away from the book, I thought that just maybe, Fowler did actually get it 100% right.  Just maybe...

The only reason this book isn't a 5 star is that there were a few places that dragged.  The story slowed down, and it felt more biographical in a few places than like the telling of a great story.  But overall, I highly recommend. I recommend to people interested in history, in biography, in drama, in Gatsby, in crazy, in feminism, in masochism, in love, in tragedy, and in wonder.  This book has it all.

FOUR AND A HALF of five stars.

An Evil Eye by Jason Goodwin

I purchased this book and recommended it to my book group based on the recommendation of a highly respected, interesting, cultured, intelligent friend.  I'm not sure if I needed to have read the first three in this "set" to really appreciate the book, or if it just wasn't my style, or what, but I thought it was good!  But just that:  good!

This "set" is not so much a series of books that must be read in order -- I understand it is more like a set of mystery novels, that can certainly be read out of order.  Inspector Yashim is a Eunuch in Istanbul with connections to the Sultan and other high ranking politicos, who is permitted to live outside of the castle, and who ends up being the man called in to solve the most bizarre or intricate of crimes.  He also happens to stumble upon others, in light of his life and connections.  In this book, Yashim is called in to see about a body in a monastery that has mysteriously appeared.

The unfamiliarity with the subject matter and even the most basic of things such as a persons title make the beginning of the book difficult to wade through.  Efendi appears to be a sort of casual title -- perhaps akin to "sir" or "friend" and is often used in connection with the proper name for an individual, and occasionally on its own.  Such as:  Efendi Yashim or just Efendi.  Pasha is another title... and Valide I believe is a title and not a proper name.  Goodwin uses these words as if they are every day words to his readers.  And perhaps they are to some; and perhaps readers of the first three found these words familiar.  But as for my friends, co book group readers, and myself: a glossary would have been helpful to refer to for reminders and a brief explanation or background.  I can understand not weighing down the story w/ these definitions, but as I say, a glossary of some sort would have been helpful.

The other frustrating/annoying bit about the book is the author's gratuitous food scenes.  I understand that some of these mystery-type authors want their theme, but this one already has one -- exotic locations, foreign involvement, and history!  No need to bring in how that onion was cut, how the parsley was sprinkled, etc.

On the plus side, however, it was an entertaining story and somewhat rewarding in the end.  For me, once I passed the halfway point, it became a quick read, and I wanted to know what happened next.  I began to read much more quickly, and even found myself wanting to turn the page rather than obey my bed time.  I also liked some of the side characters quite a bit (particularly Palewski), and I imagine that having read the first 3 books would have assisted more in caring about Yashim's own backstory.

There appears to be a story of revenge lurking in the background, and once the "big reveal" was made at the end of An Evil Eye, I imagined that I might have cared more if I knew why it was such a big reveal.

Overall, I enjoyed the scenery, I enjoyed the familiarity with the unusual (to us here in America, anyway), and I enjoyed the mystery.  As I said, it was good!  But not great.  I would recommend to someone who is a big mystery fan, a fan of Istanbul and/or harems and/or sultans and/or historical politics.  I would recommend to someone looking for a meatier book, a denser book.

THREE AND A HALF of five stars.

Teacher's Pest (Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #3) by Charles Gilman

Review based on ARC.

The best part about reading a good series is when the books get better as they progress.  This one does not disappoint.

Teacher's Pest is the best yet in the series of the Tales From Lovecraft Middle School.  The book begins with Robert and Glenn beginning a day like any other day in the life of a middle schooler.  Unlike the first two books in the series, however, a sudden twist in the beginning of the story leaves you questioning the allegiances of even the most faithful of Robert's friends.

Glenn is bitten by an unusual looking, purple-bellied wasp, and his behavior suddenly and dramatically changes.  Not only is Robert left wondering if his friend is ok and what it will take to bring him back around, but he is also left largely alone to deal with the new plot of Tillinghast to take over the school and the world.

At the end of Book 2 (Slither Sisters), Howard Mergler has been named Student Council President as a result of Robert's gracious actions.  As we learn at the end of Book 2, however, Howard is yet another demon-in-disguise and part of Tillinghast's plan.  In addition to the purple wasp that Glenn was subject to, the entire school is overrun with creepy crawlers of all varieties.  Howard Mergler promises the school that the creepy crawlers will all be gone by the end of the day, but in Robert's investigations, a more sinister plot is discovered.

Teacher's Pest is not only an entertaining story and a quick read, but it also contains morals and friend-lessons and is, overall, promising to be an excellent series.

I highly recommend for 8+ readers with a penchant for the unusual!
FIVE of five stars.

The Slither Sisters (Tales from Lovecraft Middle School Book 2) by Charles Gilman

Fun, fast, and great.

Again, this series is aimed at a younger audience.  Unsurprisingly, middle school would be the perfect age range -- although the writing may be too simple for many middle-schoolers, it will be perfect for others and it has the added benefit of having middle-school protagonists.  But I would recommend as young as 7/8.  Although the topic is monsters and beasts, it's a mildly presented form of monsters and beasts and (I don't think I'm spoiling anything here) the hero always wins. (highlight over if you want to see the not-too-spoiling spoiler).

Robert, his best friend Glenn, and his best ghost friend Karina delve deeper into the mystery of the school and the Tillinghast Mansion in the crossover dimension.

The characters encounter monsters, as expected, and must run from a fate-worse-than-death, as expected.  But this second book offers more background into the story, the mansion, and various characters. Robert, Glenn, and Karina get to know each other and their classmates better, as well as seemingly minor characters who ultimately prove to have a much stronger roles to play.

The Price twins have returned from being missing and, as revealed in the first book, have done so as monsters from Tillinghast, albeit in human form. The heroes never know who to trust - and they must resolve how to save the school despite the fact that any of its teachers, parents, or students could be involved in the Tillinghast plot.  As expected, this book satisfying closes the "chapter," but leaves a solid cliff-hanger for the next book.  (Eagerly awaiting!)

An excellent new series and I highly recommend (particularly so to the appropriate age range).

FOUR and a HALF of five stars.

(note: read on Kindle)
(note2: I found this awesome GIF on http://quirkbooks.com/book/lovecraft-middle-school-slither-sisters)

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

Review based on ARC.

Where to begin...
This is a cross between sci-fi, fantasy, and "lite" horror, with some conspiracy, mystery, and supernatural thriller thrown in.  It was a fun book, a quick read, and satisfying in the end.  Mona Bright's father dies at the beginning of the book and, as a consequence, Mona discover that she has inherited a house she never knew existed, in a town she has never heard of, from a mother she never really knew and who died when Mona was about five.  Mona is unable to find Wink, NM on any maps and, only as she actually draws close to where Wink appears to be located, based on its proximity to a mesa, has anyone even heard of the town.

Mona finally finds idyllic Wink, with its perfect lawns and perfect small-town folk, and begins the process of discovering who she is and, much more importantly to Mona, who her mother is.  The existence of Mona's mother appears to be wrapped in secrecy and top-governmental confidentiality.  No one remembers her mother, even those who have lived in Wink their whole lives.  But the longer Mona hangs around and the deeper she digs, the more she uncovers about not only her mother, but about the town and all of its inhabitants.

Bennett explores science-fiction and dips into fantasy in the discussions about pan-dimensional reality, the ability of dimensions to "bruise" each other and permit cross-over, and even touches on theories of alternate realities.  There is also "lite-Horror" and supernatural thriller in the inhabitants of Wink, their "monsters" who rule the nights, and the monsters who plague the monsters.  The story progresses not only through the single narrative of Mona attempting to discern the mystery of Wink and her own past, but also incorporates the perspectives of other more peripheral characters, those who do not even live in Wink, those who are merely doing as they're told, and those who suffer at the hands of the "monsters" and the monsters' monsters.

The story is ultimately about discovery of self and the exploration of familial relations, and Bennett does a nice job of weaving something of a moral into the backdrop of a small town mystery-horror.  ... This review may seem a little dry, and that's because (1) trying to summarize a 600-page novel must omit all of the interesting little details, and (2) more importantly, none of this novel should be ruined ahead of time.  Each discovery is worth the discovery.

The book didn't blow my mind.  It didn't make me think that maybe, just maybe.... maybe this could happen.  It didn't floor me with a baffling skill of writing or cause me to completely surrender all notions of reality.  But I really enjoyed American Elsewhere and highly recommend.  Although it was a longer novel, and my life is incredibly busy these days, I stayed up long past bedtime and ignored other necessary tasks in order to read just a little bit more, just a little bit more.... just a little bit more of this novel.

I easily red a couple hundred pages in one sitting, and that, if nothing else makes it a worth-reading book.  Fortunately, there is more to this book than its simply being a quick read.  Bennett's interesting theories on dimension-bruising and his willingness to explore some of the more extreme science-fiction and supernatural areas are impressive amidst a story that takes place in the present world "as we know it," managing to present a sort of magical realism that pushes the boundaries of "reality."

Overall, I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys sci-fi, fantasy, lite-horror, supernatural thrillers, and the like.
FOUR of five stars.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

This is another book that we read for book group, but which I also feel inclined to personally review.

This is a great debut.  While reading this book, I have told many who will listen that this is what I wanted The Great Gatsby to be, but wasn't.  I know, blasphemy.  But I had heard so much about The Great Gatsby before reading it, and I really really built it up in my head.  I don't know that anything could have lived up to what I was expecting.  And along came Rules of Civility.

Set in 1938 in Manhattan, the book explores the "life and times" of a young girl (late 20s), finding her way.  The book is told from the perspective of Katya a/k/a Kate a/k/a Katherine a/k/a Katey, with brief and infrequent deviations from her perspective to Tinker Grey (Teddy/Theodore).  Many authors try to garner familiarity with their characters by the forced imposition of nicknames... Towles' use flowed off the proverbial tongue.  I never felt as if my feelings about the characters were being forced upon me or manufactured by clever tricks--whether that was in fact happening or not ;)  Instead, I felt that there was a natural, organic discovery of the various individuals in the story, and I was able to come to my own conclusions about them as "time" (the pages of the novel) passed.

I truly enjoyed Rules of Civility.  I loved reading about Kate's job as a paralegal, and then as an assistant (however briefly) in the literary world, and best of all, her role as co-executive assistant of the classed-up gossip magazine.  I loved reading about Kate's various friends and acquaintances.  I loved Anne Grandyn.  I loved Wallace.  I didn't particularly love a couple of the other characters -- including Tinker himself, but they were still intriguing ... and I'm not so sure I was meant to love them.  There was depth to the story and dynamics to the characters, and I appreciated that not everyone was the 150% version of what a real person would have been at that time.

The primary thing I did not love about the book:  There was a bit of time, in the middle to 2/3 point of the book, where it felt likt it was dragging just a little, where Kate's love life seemed to take on a depressing-romantic weighed down feel.  But Towles moves past that point and brings the reader back into activity and movement without straying too long in the "drama" side of Kate's year.

Overall, an excellent debut that definitely made me want to read more.  Definitely recommend to all readers, men and women alike.  Towles did an impressive job writing from the perspective of a woman, but there's still a gentleman's touch that I think will appeal to both genders alike.

FOUR 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.