Title: Winter People
Author: Jennifer McMahon
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary: Ruthie Washburne is concerned when her mom suddenly disappears. Ruthie and her mom live in West Hall, Vermont. Ruthie and her little sister discover secrets as they search for their mom. West Hall was also home to Sara Harrison Shea, whose death in 1908 is still talked about. Townspeople said the ghost of Sara used to wander the town after dark.
Review: Admittedly, this book took me a while to get into. I'm not into monsters, but apparently I don't mind spells. Once I got into this book, I loved it. The back and forth between Sara's story and the present time was easy to keep track of (key for me since by the end of the day my brain is fried). It was kind of creepy and scary and you really didn't know how it was going to end. The ending left you hanging a bit, which I both love and loathe since I'm dying to know what was on the other side of the door. But that's what so great about endings like that--it leaves it up to your imagination. This is a great book for Halloween or just the upcoming winter. Nothing says winter like Vermont and nothing says Halloween like spells.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Book review: A Circle of Wives
Title: A Circle of Wives
Author: Alice LaPlante
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: Dr. John Taylor, a successful plastic surgeon, is discovered dead in a hotel room. The autopsy reveals his death wasn't accidental. His funeral brings together his three wives. Not his two exes and a current wife--his three current wives. It turns out that he was a bigamist. Stranger still, his first wife knew about and encouraged the two additional marriages. Needless to say, several people have motives for why they'd be angry enough to kill Dr. Taylor.
Rating: This book was intended to be sort of a palate cleanser for me. It seems like my last few reads have been on the intense and/or serious side, and I wanted a break from that. This was seemingly a good choice for that, but it was like I was expecting a mango sorbet but got lemon sorbet instead. It's fine, it's just not what I really, really wanted. There wasn't a lot of depth to the characters. I had a hard time keeping the wives straight, too. Also, the detective was the usual cliche--are detectives ever happy people? I'd like to see a book about a happy go lucky detective with a happy home life. Is that too much to ask?
Author: Alice LaPlante
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: Dr. John Taylor, a successful plastic surgeon, is discovered dead in a hotel room. The autopsy reveals his death wasn't accidental. His funeral brings together his three wives. Not his two exes and a current wife--his three current wives. It turns out that he was a bigamist. Stranger still, his first wife knew about and encouraged the two additional marriages. Needless to say, several people have motives for why they'd be angry enough to kill Dr. Taylor.
Rating: This book was intended to be sort of a palate cleanser for me. It seems like my last few reads have been on the intense and/or serious side, and I wanted a break from that. This was seemingly a good choice for that, but it was like I was expecting a mango sorbet but got lemon sorbet instead. It's fine, it's just not what I really, really wanted. There wasn't a lot of depth to the characters. I had a hard time keeping the wives straight, too. Also, the detective was the usual cliche--are detectives ever happy people? I'd like to see a book about a happy go lucky detective with a happy home life. Is that too much to ask?
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Book review: We are all completely fine
Book review: We Are All Completely Fine
Author: Daryl Gregory
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Harrison, Stan, Barbara, Greta and Martin are all damaged in their own way and are brought together for some group therapy. Monsters are involved.
Review: This book was recommended to me by my husband, Aaron. Aaron's and my taste in books don't always intersect but Aaron thought I'd like it. I read the description and it seemed promising, and the book was more of a novella than a novel, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. What I missed in the description was the reference to monsters was literal. I thought the monsters were symbolic.
I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, vampires, alternate worlds, that sort of thing. Interestingly enough, I seem to be okay with ghosts, because I'm reading a book about ghosts and magic and so far so good on that one. But I digress--that review will be written later. Anyway, I gave this two stars because I was turned off by the real monsters. A bond did develop with the group and that was right up my alley and there was certainly growth among the characters, but I just couldn't get past the monsters. However, if you like monsters, you might want to check it out.
Author: Daryl Gregory
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Harrison, Stan, Barbara, Greta and Martin are all damaged in their own way and are brought together for some group therapy. Monsters are involved.
Review: This book was recommended to me by my husband, Aaron. Aaron's and my taste in books don't always intersect but Aaron thought I'd like it. I read the description and it seemed promising, and the book was more of a novella than a novel, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. What I missed in the description was the reference to monsters was literal. I thought the monsters were symbolic.
I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, vampires, alternate worlds, that sort of thing. Interestingly enough, I seem to be okay with ghosts, because I'm reading a book about ghosts and magic and so far so good on that one. But I digress--that review will be written later. Anyway, I gave this two stars because I was turned off by the real monsters. A bond did develop with the group and that was right up my alley and there was certainly growth among the characters, but I just couldn't get past the monsters. However, if you like monsters, you might want to check it out.
Book review: The Book of Jonah
Title: The Book of Jonah
Author: Joshua Max Feldman
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary: Jonah's a lawyer at a Manhattan white shoe firm on the partner track. He has a girlfriend that he's pretty sure he's going to end up marrying one day. In the meantime he's also still seeing another girl on the side. He's on top of the world. Then Jonah goes to a party one night and has a disturbing vision. These visions continue and end up turning his life as he knew it upside down. He crosses paths with Judith Bulbrook, an intense woman with struggles of her own
Review: I loved the first part of this book and the end. The main reason I didn't give it five stars is there was a small part of the middle that seemed a little vague and meandering. Perhaps that was the point but it didn't really resonate with me. This book was different from anything I've read in a long time. Jonah's self-destruction is fascinating and Judith is an interesting character in her own right as well. Judith is set to conquer the world when tragedy changes her world forever. I love living vicariously through characters whose life takes a path that I didn't get a chance to explore.
Author: Joshua Max Feldman
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary: Jonah's a lawyer at a Manhattan white shoe firm on the partner track. He has a girlfriend that he's pretty sure he's going to end up marrying one day. In the meantime he's also still seeing another girl on the side. He's on top of the world. Then Jonah goes to a party one night and has a disturbing vision. These visions continue and end up turning his life as he knew it upside down. He crosses paths with Judith Bulbrook, an intense woman with struggles of her own
Review: I loved the first part of this book and the end. The main reason I didn't give it five stars is there was a small part of the middle that seemed a little vague and meandering. Perhaps that was the point but it didn't really resonate with me. This book was different from anything I've read in a long time. Jonah's self-destruction is fascinating and Judith is an interesting character in her own right as well. Judith is set to conquer the world when tragedy changes her world forever. I love living vicariously through characters whose life takes a path that I didn't get a chance to explore.
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