Category Archives: Fiction

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure- a review

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The Paris Architect

by Charles Belfoure

published by Sourcebooks Landmarks

2013

I received this book as a digital ARC from the publisher through Net Galley in return for an honest review.

Summary

Like most gentiles in Nazi-occupied Paris, architect Lucien Bernard has little empathy for the Jews. So when a wealthy industrialist offers him a large sum of money to devise secret hiding places for Jews, Lucien struggles with the choice of risking his life for a cause he doesn’t really believe in. Ultimately he can’t resist the challenge and begins designing expertly concealed hiding spaces—behind a painting, within a column, or inside a drainpipe—detecting possibilities invisible to the average eye. But when one of his clever hiding spaces fails horribly and the immense suffering of Jews becomes incredibly personal, he can no longer deny reality.

Written by an expert whose knowledge imbues every page, this story becomes more gripping with every life the architect tries to save. (from Goodreads)

My Review

It seems like I have read many well written books recently that centered on WWII, such as The Storyteller, The Girl You Left Behind, The Light in the Ruins, and The Perfume Collector.  I had heard good things about The Paris Architect, so I decided to give it a try, though I hated to compare it to the previous books I loved.  When I began this book, I admit I didn’t like it much.. The writing was very good, but I didn’t like the main character, Lucien.  He was a bit smug, shallow, and obnoxious.  This quickly changed as I read further.  In the end, I loved this book.  It was well written and moved very fast for me.  I read it in 1 1/2 days.  The only thing I would change is I would have liked to have known more about the people Lucien was helping.  There was some background given, but it left me wanting to know more about them.  I guess this is a good sign! If you enjoyed any of the books I mentioned before, I would definitely recommend this book to you.

rating

4 out of 5

Doctor Sleep- a review

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Doctor Sleep

by Stephen King

published by Scribner

2013

Summary

Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of devoted readers of The Shining and satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon. (from Goodreads)

My Review

As you know Doctor Sleep is King’s long awaited sequel to The Shining.  I was lucky enough to have read this book immediately after reading The Shining, so the story of Danny Torrance was fresh in my mind.  While The Shining scared me quite a bit, I am happy to say I was never as frightened while reading Doctor Sleep.  Other than that small difference, I enjoyed the sequel just as much as I did the first.  Doctor Sleep brings us back to Danny Torrance-now Dan- as a middle aged man who has struggled his entire life.  Just when he thinks he has hit rock bottom, literally and figuratively, he decides to make a change.  He stops drinking and drifting and settles down in a small New England town.  He works as a hospice care giver and has finally found some peace.  Then he meets a young girl, Abra Stone, who has the shining as well.  Together, they fight an evil that has set its sights on Abra.

This book was wonderful.  I love that King lets us know what happened to Dan.  It was wonderful to see him struggle through his problem and come out on the other side.  I loved the secondary characters and I thought the True Knot, the ancient beings that survive by killing youngsters with the shining, was a very bizarre twist. I especially loved the character of Rose the Hat.  When the story finally returns to the Overlook, King pulled all the loose ends together very nicely.  If you haven’t read The Shining in a very long time, it might help to do a quick reread, but I would definitely recommend Doctor Sleep.  Now I have to get myself some more King!!

Some great quotes from Doctor Sleep-

~“There came a time when you realized that moving on was pointless. That you took yourself with you wherever you went.”

~“Death was no less a miracle than birth.”

~“There’s nothing to be scared of.”
Instead of taking Charlie’s pulse – there was really no point – he took one of the old man’s hands in his. He saw Charlie’s wife pulling down a shade in the bedroom, wearing nothing but the slip of Belgian lace he’d bought her for their first anniversary; saw how the ponytail swung over one shoulder when she turned to look at him, her face lit in a smile that was all yes. He saw a Farmall tractor with a striped umbrella raised over the seat. He smelled bacon and heard Frank Sinatra singing ‘Come Fly with Me’ from a cracked Motorola radio sitting on a worktable littered with tools. He saw a hubcap full of rain reflecting a red barn. He tasted blueberries and gutted a deer and fished in some distant lake whose surface was dappled by steady autumn rain. He was sixty, dancing with his wife in the American Legion hall. He was thirty, splitting wood. He was five, wearing shorts and pulling a red wagon. Then the pictures blurred together, the way cards do when they’re shuffled in the hands of an expert, and the wind was blowing big snow down from the mountains, and in here was the silence and Azzie’s solemn watching eyes.” 
― Stephen King, Doctor Sleep

my rating

4.5 out of 5

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He’s Gone- a review

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He’s Gone

by Deb Caletti

published by Bantam Books

2013

The Sunday morning starts like any other, aside from the slight hangover. Dani Keller wakes up on her Seattle houseboat, a headache building behind her eyes from the wine she drank at a party the night before. But on this particular Sunday morning, she’s surprised to see that her husband, Ian, is not home. As the hours pass, Dani fills her day with small things. But still, Ian does not return. Irritation shifts to worry, worry slides almost imperceptibly into panic. And then, like a relentless blackness, the terrible realization hits Dani: He’s gone.

As the police work methodically through all the logical explanations—he’s hurt, he’s run off, he’s been killed—Dani searches frantically for a clue as to whether Ian is in fact dead or alive. And, slowly, she unpacks their relationship, holding each moment up to the light: from its intense, adulterous beginning, to the grandeur of their new love, to the difficulties of forever. She examines all the sins she can—and cannot—remember. As the days pass, Dani will plumb the depths of her conscience, turning over and revealing the darkest of her secrets in order to discover the hard truth—about herself, her husband, and their lives together.

(from Goodreads)

My Review

I enjoyed this book.  It was interesting and well written.  Beyond that, it neither wowed me or bothered me, except left me feeling a little sad.  The premise of the book is simple at first- wife wakes up Sunday morning, bit of a headache after too much wine the night before.  Where is hubby?  She assumed getting coffee and bagels-great.  She reads, makes a cup of coffee, and waits.  Walks the dog and waits.  Figure maybe he ran errands.  Maybe he was working.   Hours later, when he still hasn’t gotten home, she gets worried and starts making calls.  Where is he?  I thought the author moved the story long nicely and kept it interesting enough, though there really wasn’t much action.  As the days go by, we are given a glimpse into the marriage of Dani and Ian, and we realize slowly how unhappy it was.  Not until you are almost done with the book do you realize you aren’t reading a mystery, but rather a story about marriage.  This book actually reminded me a little of Gone Girl.  Give it a try!

Rating 3.5 out of 5

“There was no question that it was a necessary divorce, but that didn’t make it less painful. You don’t think it will hurt, leaving a marriage like that, do you? But it’s the same misguided thinking that makes people ask, after your mother dies, how old she was. If she was ninety, the bereavement isn’t supposed to be as crushing. But of course it is. Of course. There’s no equation for loss.”
― Deb Caletti, He’s Gone

About the Author

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Deb Caletti is an American writer born in San Rafael, California. She was a National Book Award finalist, as well as the recipient of other numerous awards including PEN USA finalist award, the Washington State Book Award, and SLJ Best Book award.
Deb went to Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, Washington, U.S.A., and graduated in 1981. She earned a BA in Journalism/Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1985. She currently resides in Issaquah, Washington.
A series of television films based on Caletti’s novels is currently in production.
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Seating Arrangements- A Review

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Seating Arrangements

by Maggie Shipstead

published by Alfred A. Knopf

2012

Summary

Winn Van Meter is heading for his family’s retreat on the pristine New England island of Waskeke. Normally a haven of calm, for the next three days this sanctuary will be overrun by tipsy revelers as Winn prepares for the marriage of his daughter Daphne to the affable young scion Greyson Duff.  Winn’s wife, Biddy, has planned the wedding with military precision, but arrangements are sideswept by a storm of salacious misbehavior and intractable lust: Daphne’s sister, Livia, who has recently had her heart broken by Teddy Fenn, the son of her father’s oldest rival, is an eager target for the seductive wiles of Greyson’s best man; Winn, instead of reveling in his patriarchal duties, is tormented by his long-standing crush on Daphne’s beguiling bridesmaid Agatha; and the bride and groom find themselves presiding over a spectacle of misplaced desire, marital infidelity, and monumental loss of faith in the rituals of American life.

Hilarious, keenly intelligent, and commandingly well written, Shipstead’s deceptively frothy first novel is a piercing rumination on desire, on love and its obligations, and on the dangers of leading an inauthentic life, heralding the debut of an exciting new literary voice. (from Goodreads)

My Review

I put off writing this review for almost a week, because I do not like writing negative reviews.  Usually, if I read a book for pleasure and do not enjoy it, I just chalk it up to a bad choice.  This time, I figured I should at least explain why.

I was really looking forward to reading this book.  I enjoyed Beautiful Day by Elin  Hilderbrand so much, and this looked like it had a similar storyline.  A wealthy family, a daughter’s wedding in affluent New England beach town, told from different perspectives.  A fun read for our plane rides to and from Disney.  Well, this was totally not the fun, breezy story I thought it would be.  Almost every single character in this book is either truly screwed up, or just creepy.  The bride, seven months pregnant, is the most normal character, since we barely get to know her at all.  Her sister, and maid of honor is in SERIOUS need of therapy.  The  wonderful father of the bride spends almost the whole book either fantasizing about one of the bridesmaids, feeling guilty about his fantasies, or actually trying to sleep with said bridesmaid.  And these are the main characters.  I normally do not like to give 2 stars- why bother- but this story really left me slightly ill- and that was before my son came down with the very “magical” stomach bug he brought back from Mickey’s house.   I really don’t recommend this book unless you are a huge fan of train wrecks and staring at accidents on the side of the highway.  Or just want to feel good that you are not one of these people.

Rating

2.5 out of 5 stars

Before I Met You- a review

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Before I Met You

by Lisa Jewel

published by Century

2013

Summary

After her grandmother Arlette’s death, Betty is finally ready to begin her life. She had forfeited university, parties, boyfriends, summer jobs—all the usual preoccupations of a woman her age—in order to care for Arlette in their dilapidated, albeit charming home on the English island of Guernsey. Her will included a beneficiary unknown to Betty and her family, a woman named Clara Pickle who presumably could be found at a London address. Now, having landed on a rather shabby street corner in ’90s Soho, Betty is determined to find the mysterious Clara. She’s ready for whatever life has to throw her way. Or so she thinks . . .

In 1920s bohemian London, Arlette De La Mare is starting her new life in a time of postwar change. Beautiful and charismatic, she is soon drawn into the hedonistic world of the Bright Young People. But two years after her arrival in London, tragedy strikes and she flees back to her childhood home and remains there for the rest of her life.

As Betty navigates the ups and downs of city life and begins working as a nanny for a rock star tabloid magnet, her search for Clara leads her to a man—a stranger to Betty, but someone who meant the world to her grandmother. Will the secrets of Arlette’s past help Betty find her own way to happiness in the present?

A rich detective story and a captivating look at London then and now,Before I Met You is an unforgettable novel about two very different women, separated by seventy years, but united by big hearts and even bigger dreams (from Goodreads)

My review

This book started off real well for me.  I loved the premise- finally moving out on one’s own, with a sort of “quest”.  I very much enjoyed how Betty tracked down the mysterious beneficiary, and the flashbacks to Arlette’s story.  I loved the descriptions of life in 1920s London, the changing of norms, the freedoms, and the music.  The part of the book that didn’t work for me was with Betty herself.  It was a little too predictable, moving next door to a rock star, and all that transpired there (do not want to give away too much).  I also felt Betty’s character was not as developed as others, especially Arlette’s.  I liked the secondary characters a lot and was hoping they would develop more also.

This was a fun read, and I would recommend it especially to those that enjoy the Jazz Age.

Rating

3 out of 5

 

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Lisa Jewell (born 19th July 1968, Middlesex, London) is a popular British author of chick lit fiction. Her books include Ralph’s Party, Thirtynothing and most recently 31 Dream Street. She lives in Swiss Cottage, London with her husband Jascha and daughters Amelie Mae (born 2003) and Evie Scarlett (born 2007).
(from  Goodreads)

Bellman & Black- a review

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Bellman & Black

by Diane Setterfield

published by Random House

2013

I received a digital copy of this as an ARC from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary

Bellman & Black is a heart-thumpingly perfect ghost story, beautifully and irresistibly written, its ratcheting tension exquisitely calibrated line by line. Its hero is William Bellman, who, as a boy of 11, killed a shiny black rook with a catapult, and who grew up to be someone, his neighbours think, who “could go to the good or the bad.” And indeed, although William Bellman’s life at first seems blessed—he has a happy marriage to a beautiful woman, becomes father to a brood of bright, strong children, and thrives in business—one by one, people around him die. And at each funeral, he is startled to see a strange man in black, smiling at him. At first, the dead are distant relatives, but eventually his own children die, and then his wife, leaving behind only one child, his favourite, Dora. Unhinged by grief, William gets drunk and stumbles to his wife’s fresh grave—and who should be there waiting, but the smiling stranger in black. The stranger has a proposition for William—a mysterious business called “Bellman & Black” . .. (from Goodreads)

My Review

I have looked forward to something new by this author for years now (I loved The Thirteenth Tale, which I strongly recommend!), so I was very excited to see she had finally published something new.  Unlike some other reviewers, I did not have The Thirteenth Tale fresh in my head, as I read it when it was first published years ago.  Therefore, my expectations were not so very high, except that I did look forward to good writing.  I was not disappointed.  I truly enjoyed this book, but I must admit to liking the first half of the story much more than the second half.

This story might have benefitted from being a short story, or a novella, in the vein of Edgar Allen Poe.  If I had known just slightly less of William, and his seemingly blessed life, I would have possibly looked on his downfall with just curiosity.  As it was, I found it almost painful to read on as each new tragedy rained down on him and his family. These events left him unbalanced and he continued to change, becoming a different man, more deranged as the years go by.    He pays dearly for the mistake of his 11 year old self.  As each family member dies, he sees the same man in black at each gravesite.  When his last child does not succumb to death, he feels he has made a contract with this mysterious man, and sets about creating Bellman & Black mourning emporium.  The part I found the hardest was when he is being fitted for a new waistcoat by by the seamstress he has a connection with in Bellman & Black.  He sees through the veil of mania he has lived in.  He can picture reaching for her, being comforted and giving love, but then turns from this last chance, and sinks further into despair.

“He felt something move in his chest, as though an organ had been removed and something unfamiliar left in its place. A sentiment he had never suspected the existence of bloomed in him. It traveled from his chest along his veins to every limb. It swelled in his head, muffled his ears, stilled his voice, and collected in his feet and fingers. Having no language for it, he remained silent, but felt it root, become permanent.”

As I said, this is a very well written book, that for me was just a bit painful to read to the end.  But that could totally just be my own opinion.  I would recommend you read it and see for yourself.

Rating

3.5 out of 5

BTW- if I am totally honest, all the parts with the birds kind of freaked me out, seeing as I am petrified of all birds.  As I was in the middle of this book, I could SWEAR that the geese that hang out near the pond I run around were watching me.  I felt their eyes on me…scared the hell out of me.

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To Learn more about the Author, please visit this website-

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Diane-Setterfield/38679211

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes- She Reads October Book Club Selection

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The Girl You Left Behind

by Jojo Moyes

published by Pamela Dorman Books

2013

I received this book as a digital ARC from the publisher through Net Galley

I am reposting this, as She Reads has chosen this wonderful book as their October Book Club Selection.

Summary

In 1916 French artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his wife Sophie to fight at the Front. When her town falls into German hands, his portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local Kommandant and causes her to risk everything – her family, reputation and life – in the hope of seeing her true love one last time.

Nearly a century later and Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. Its beauty speaks of their short life together, but when the painting’s dark and passion-torn history is revealed, Liv discovers that the first spark of love she has felt since she lost him is threatened…

In The Girl You Left Behind two young women, separated by a century, are united in their determination to fight for the thing they love most – whatever the cost.

My review

I picked up Jojo Moye’s  The Last Letter From Your Lover last year at the Charleston airport.  Some 36 hours later, I was a huge fan of the author.  I missed out reading her wildly popular Me Before You, so I jumped at the chance to read her new book when it was offered through Net Galley.  This story is told in a dual narrative, following the stories of two women and one painting.  The story begins in 1916 in the French town of St. Perrone that is occupied by German troops.  Sophie Lefevre has returned from Paris to help her sister run their family hotel, while both their husbands are fighting on the front.  Moyes paints a vivid picture of the hardships suffered by the town.  While trying to survive, Sophie is forced to serve the german troops in her bar.  The new German Kommandant takes an interest in a painting hanging in the bar that was done by Sophie’s artist husband Edouard.  The painting  The Girl You Left Behind, was of Sophie, and it it the one reminder Sophie has left of her beloved.  The second story is intertwined and is set in present day London.  Liv Halston is a widow still desperately mourning her husband David who passed away suddenly four years ago.  She lives a small empty life, clinging to her pain.  Her one consolation is the painting David bought her a s a wedding present called The Girl You Left Behind.  When Sophie unexpectedly meets American Paul McCafferty, she finally allows herself to imagine her life beginning again.

Moyes takes us through the hardest times in the lives of these two very different women as well as the horrors of WWI in a masterful way.  I don’t want to tell you too much of the story, since it unfolds in a wonderful way.  I did prefer the parts with Sophie slightly over Liv’s, but probably because I am a sucker for well written historical fiction.  I highly recommend this book, as I would The Last Letter From Your Lover.  Moyes is a gifted author who I will look forward to reading in the future.

“I stood and gazed at her, and, for a few seconds, I remembered how it felt to be that girl, free of hunger, consumed only by idle thoughts of what private moments I might spend with Edouard.  She reminded me that the world is capable of beauty, and that there were once things-art, joy, love-that filled my world, instead of fear and nettle soup and curfews.  I saw him in my expression.  And then I realized what I had just done.  He had reminded me of my own strength, of how much I had left in me with which to fight.

When You return, Edouard, I swear I will once again be the girl you painted.”

My Rating

4.5 out of 5

Please head over to She Reads to see more reviews of this wonderful book!

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The Never List- a review

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The Never List

by Koethi Zan

published by Wheeler Publishing

2013

I read a copy of this book that I borrowed from my library.

Summary

For years, best friends Sarah and Jennifer kept what they called the “Never List”: a list of actions to be avoided, for safety’s sake, at all costs. But one night, against their best instincts, they accept a cab ride with grave, everlasting consequences. For the next three years, they are held captive with two other girls in a dungeon-like cellar by a connoisseur of sadism.

Ten years later, at thirty-one, Sarah is still struggling to resume a normal life, living as a virtual recluse under a new name, unable to come to grips with the fact that Jennifer didn’t make it out of that cellar. Now, her abductor is up for parole and Sarah can no longer ignore the twisted letters he sends from jail.

Finally, Sarah decides to confront her phobias and the other survivors—who hold their own deep grudges against her. When she goes on a cross-country chase that takes her into the perverse world of BDSM, secret cults, and the arcane study of torture, she begins unraveling a mystery more horrifying than even she could have imagined.

A shocking, blazingly fast read, Koethi Zan’s debut is a must for fans of Karin Slaughter, Laura Lippman, and S.J. Watson. (from Goodreads)

My Review

When I read a few reviews of this book, I was hesitant to read it because of the dark material. I like suspense, but the premise of women being kidnapped, raped and torture d for years is a little beyond what I normally enjoy reading, especially after the whole horror of what happened in Cleveland.  However, most reviews I did read were positive, so I decided to try it.  I am glad I did, as this was a very well written book.  The author did not feel the need to make the disturbing parts extremely graphic, instead allowed the reader to figure out what happened using just a few words or phrases.  As it was, it was enough to make me extremely uncomfortable at times.  This book, while well written, deals with a very tough topic.  I enjoyed the characters, especially Tara.  While I thought Sarah was pretty awesome too, her transformation seemed a little unlikely to me.   The only reason I did not really love this book honestly was the ending.  It all seemed a to tie up too neatly and quickly.  If you are looking for an engaging, quick read, and can handle the subject matter, I would recommend this book.

Rating 3.5 out of 5

Amity & Sorrow- a review

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Amity & Sorrow

by Peggy Riley

published by Little, Brown and Company

2013

I read a copy of this book that  I borrowed from the library.

Summary

A mother and her daughters drive for days without sleep until they crash their car in rural Oklahoma. The mother, Amaranth, is desperate to get away from someone she’s convinced will follow them wherever they go–her husband. The girls, Amity and Sorrow, can’t imagine what the world holds outside their father’s polygamous compound. Rescue comes in the unlikely form of Bradley, a farmer grieving the loss of his wife. At first unwelcoming to these strange, prayerful women, Bradley’s abiding tolerance gets the best of him, and they become a new kind of family. An unforgettable story of belief and redemption, AMITY & SORROW is about the influence of community and learning to stand on your own.  (from Goodreads)

My Review

I usually enjoy books about cults/polygamy, so when I saw this book making the rounds on book blogs, I got excited to read it-plus it has a pretty cool cover.  When I saw it in the library a few weeks ago, I gave a little happy dance and grabbed it up.  I liked the beginning of the book a lot, but after awhile I was a little creeped out by Sorrow.  That girl should not be allowed to roam free without some serious psychological help!  I did however like the other characters, especially Bradley.  I wanted to like Amaranth more, and feel sympathy/pity for her, but after awhile, I was like” Lady, your daughter is NUTS!  Keep her away from other people!!”  The writing was very good, the prose quite lyrical.  I did enjoy this book, only a little less than I had thought I would.

Rating

3 out of 5

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Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

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beautiful wife

Beautiful Day

by Elin Hilderbrand

published by

2013

Summary

A summer wedding stirs up trouble on both sides of the family in this new novel from bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand.
The Carmichaels and Grahams have gathered on Nantucket for a wedding. Plans are being made according to the wishes of the bride’s late mother, who left behind The Notebook: specific instructions for every detail of her youngest daughter’s future nuptials. Everything should be falling into place for the beautiful event–but in reality, things are far from perfect.

While the couple-to-be are quite happy, their loved ones find their own lives crumbling. In the days leading up to the wedding, love will be questioned, scandals will arise, and hearts will be broken and healed. Elin Hilderbrand takes readers on a touching journey in BEAUTIFUL DAY–into the heart of marriage, what it means to be faithful, and how we choose to honor our commitments.  (from Goodreads)

My Review

I have enjoyed Elin Hilderbrand’s fun novels for a few years now.  Most are set in beautiful Nantucket where the author lives, a place I have sadly never visited.  My favorite was probably The Island, set on Tuckernuck Island.  Hilderbrand’s books, are fun, relaxing, and usually very quick reads.  Beautiful Day took me about 32 hours-and it was a lot of fun!  I really likes the way the book was told from a few different perspectives-the bride’s father, sister, future mother in law, etc.  If you have ever been to “that” wedding-where some outrageous things happen, you will really enjoy this book. I had the pleasure to attend such a wedding while 7 months pregnant with my son- stone cold sober, so I remember every detail!

While it might not be considered great literature, I truly enjoyed reading this book.  If you are looking for a fun, beach type book, I definitely recommend Beautiful Day!

Rating

3.5 out of 5