Book review: Under the Influence

Title: Under the Influence
Author: Joyce Maynard
Rating: 4 out 5 stars

Summary:  Helen is facing a lonely life after her drinking led to the end of her marriage and losing custody of her young son Ollie.  Her visitations with Ollie are awkward and she makes ends meet as a school photographer and waitressing at catered events.

When Helen meets Ava and Swift Havilland, she falls under their spell.  They're wealthy philanthropists with a seemingly perfect marriage and glamorous life.  They take her under their wing and welcome her and Ollie into their well-connected world.  Ava and Swift's generosity includes offering to help Helen regain custody of Ollie.  

But then Ollie is a witness in an accident involving Swift and his son and Helen begins to see the Havillands for what they really are and finds herself at a turning point.  

Review:  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I love a good story about addicts.  The title's a play on words and the recovery part is more of a sub-story, although it's the circumstances of Helen's sobriety that led to the friendship between her and Ava.  I'm not sure if I've read Maynard's other work before (although I'm reading another one right now), but I like it.  There's something clearly more sinister going on but Helen is blinded by Ava and Swift's money and attention, that she chooses to ignore what's right in front of her.  She was, as the book states, under the influence.  It takes her son being used as a pawn for Helen to wise up and see the truth.  Good summer read!

Time to write: 4:46.  

Book review: A Little Life

Title: A Little Life
Author: Hanya Yanagihara
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary: This book follows four friends that meet in college and explores their post-college life as they establish their careers and build relationships.  The men are held together by Jude, whose traumatic childhood has made him fragile and fiercely protected by his three best friends.

Review:  Wow.  Even writing this review weeks after I finished it, I'm blown away.  I loved the characters and their development and how the story takes them all to the very end.  Jude is so damaged I can't even begin to fathom him.  If there's anything negative I have to say, it's how many years Jude wastes staying so damage, but then again, that's obviously a huge part of the book.  Go out and read this book.  It's long, but it's worth it.

Time to write: 2:54

Book review: The Royal We

Title:  The Royal We

Author: Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Format: ebook

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary:  American Bex Porter's life is changed forever when she goes overseas to Oxford for school and meets Nick, the heir to the British Throne.  Years later, on the eve of their wedding, Bex reflects on their love story and if past transgressions can be forgiven in time for one of the most anticipated events of the century.

Review:  This book, written by the Fug Girls, is pure, amazing fluff.  Like light, airy cotton candy.  If you ever wondered what Princess Kate's life was like as she met Prince William, this is the escape for you.  Sure, Kate is made an American and Pippa is a twin instead of a younger sister, but we all know what this book is about.  If anything, it makes Kate a little more interesting.  Kate is such a perfect princess, sometimes I want to see her break out of her shell a bit.

Time to write: 2:29

Book review: City on Fire

Title: City on Fire
Author: Garth Risk Hallberg
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Summary:  Manhattan, 1976.  Regan and William Hamilton-Sweeney are estranged siblings and heirs to one of the city's great fortunes.  Keith and Mercer are the mean who love Regan and William.  Charlie and Samantha are two suburban teenagers enthralled with the up and coming Manhattan punk scene.  Then there's the magazine reporter and his idealistic neighbor. Finally, the detective that's trying to figure out the link between all of them and what they have to do with a shooting on New Year's Eve.  

Review:  This book is too freaking long (944 pages).  This book needed a better editor.  It just too long to develop and get all of the various back stories and everything jumped back and forth in time.  The characters were interesting enough, everything was dragged out too long.  Eventually I was so far in that I had put in the time, I might as well see it through, but save yourself and don't bother.

Time to write: 1:40

Book review: What She Knew

Title: What She Knew
Author: Gilly MacMillan
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary: Rachel Jenner is walking in a park with her 8-year-old son Ben when he asks to run ahead.  It's an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon and Rachel has no reason to worry--until Ben vanishes.

Police are called, search parties are sent out and Rachel, already feeling insecure after her recent divorce, starts to feel herself coming undone.  As hours and then days pass with no sign of Ben, everyone becomes a suspect, from Rachel's perfect sister to her newly married ex-husband.  Public scrutiny on Rachel also begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.

As Rachel begins her own investigation, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite what she imagined it to be and it's anonymous strangers she should be fearing but those she trusts the most. (Source: Amazon)    

Review:  If you're looking for a good beach read as we head into summer, check this one out.  Similar to The Rocks, I listened to this on audiobook but I think this book would be an even better read (than listen).  Plus I'm always partial to characters named Rachel, even if they spell it differently than me.

Time to write: 3:00

Book review: The Rocks

Title: The Rocks
Author: Peter Nichols
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary:  Set against beautiful Mediterranean Sea views and lush olive groves, this book opens with a confrontation and a secret: what was the mysterious and catastrophic event that drove apart newlyweds Lulu and Gerald in 1948 and resulted in them never speaking again, despite living on the same small island for the next sixty years?  And how did their history shape the friendship of their unrelated children decades later?  The Rocks is a double love story that begins with a mystery then moves backward in time to unravel what really happened so many years ago. (Source: Amazon). 

Review: To be fair this book should probably be given four stars but I don't recommend the audiobook format.  This book starts in the present time and then continues to move back in time.  I kept wanting to re-read the beginning once I became more familiar with the characters.  I enjoyed the characters and the story, but the number of peripheral characters made it too hard for me to remember who they were without the luxury of being able to go back and read.  Still, I would recommend this as a good beach read for the summer.

Time to write: 5:33