Genre: Historical Romance, Shortly after Civil War
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Grade: F
Lydia McQuire, a nurse for the Union in the Civil War, has just enough money in her pockets for either food or board (but definitely not both) when she spots a sign advertising for a wife. She would never do anything so demeaning as sign on to being a wife to some stranger when piano playing at saloon's is going so lucratively for her but she figures that since it is breakfast time she might get her interview with a meal. So she rouses Devon Quade from bed, asks for an interview and sure enough gets breakfast with it. But he is so handsome! So mannerly! Lydia decides to marry him when she is offered the opportunity.
Once aboard ship Lydia is surprised to see Devon walking towards her with another woman on his arm. His sister? Daughter? Alas no, it is his wife. Devon had not contracted Lydia to marry him but his older brother Brigham. Brigham of course knows nothing about it and doesn't want to marry. Lydia begins her conversation with him by assuring him she doesn't want to marry him either.
This book is a mess of standard romance subplots. Lydia lusts after Brigham, eventually sleeps with him, but won't marry him till he says he loves her. Devon's wife Polly turns out to be a soiled lady in search of a better life and hasn't really married him (She would use a fake preacher, "marry" men and then steal from them). Since Polly is pregnant and Devon deserts her Brigham starts to marry her but then Lydia and Devon interrupt the ceremony to get their respective partners back. Now that everyone is legally married to who they want to be there is a big fight and life goes pretty much back to lusting, fighting and living separately while the ladies pine for the men to say those three magic words. Everyone eventually does of course, because this is a romance novel.
I didn't like any of the characters. When they weren't being TSTL they were being hateful or stubborn. I bought two Millers at the used book store and am debating if the second one is even worth reading at this point.
Tea: Brew a pot and pour it over this clunker.
tea time
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A Bride Most Begrudging
Author: Deanne Gist
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Grade: A
I have to admit to a bit of a prejudice against inspirational romance. Over the years I have read some that are just plain awful, some that abound with such a judgmental attitude that I feel I am being smacked in the face every time I pick the book up and some that have so much preaching I want to skip that weeks visit to church. For the most part I avoid the books. While I can manage to pick up a clunker in any genre I seem to have a special knack for it with this one.
Fortunately, this book quickly banished those past experiences; Surprising since it begins with a bit of a TSTL (too stupid to live) moment. Lady Constance Morrow is horrified when she finds out that her beloved Uncle Skelly is being deported to America for speaking against the King and slips away from the protection of family and servants to say a final goodbye to him on the ship taking him to the Colonies. The captain, seeing a young woman without protection, quickly adds her to the group of female felons he has changed down below who will serve as brides for the colonists. Travel in 1634 is no picnic and Constance finds herself hungry, dirty and devastated as her uncle dies and she lands in the Colonies with no way to prove who she is. Enter Drew O'Connor, a man not looking for a wife but who, with a few twists of fate, finds himself attached to Lady Constance.
Watching these two fall in love was a ton of fun. There were some truly hilarious moments between the two of them as they adapted to life seen through each others eyes. One memorable moment involving a shared trencher and two very hungry people had me laughing out loud but many others had me snickering, giggling and smiling my way through the book. I loved that Constance wasn't a doormat/Sunday school teacher type heroine but an honest to God woman who got cranky, could be selfish, liked to use her mind and was strong willed without (for the most part) using that will for TSTL'ness. Drew seems like one of those men turned bitter by the hardness of life (and he has a tough one) at first but pretty quickly we are shown the gentle heart beneath the tough exterior. His struggle at one point to determine if lust was an acceptable emotion or if his love was supposed to be something pure and he was somehow tainting everything was funny and touching, rather than heavy handed or preachy. There wasn't an assumption of what constituted good, Christian behavior from either of them and that made them seem very life like to me, very much like christian people I know in the real world. They didn't spout bible verses at every problem, nor did they indulge in judging their neighbors constantly. If I am harping on this issue I apologize but many an inspirational romance has lost me over just such things.
The book is sweet rather than hot and towards the end I felt the author was tacking on a bit to stretch things but the epilogue is great and the feel of the book overall brought a smile to my face. If you have been interested in giving an inspirational a try this might be the one to do it with.
Tea: How about something truly American? Here is a link to a recipe for Pumpkin Tea Bread! Seasonal, unique to our country (at least at first) and colonial (not sure about the bread but the pumpkin itself assuredly was!) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Tea-Bread/Detail.aspx
Genre: Inspirational Romance
Grade: A
I have to admit to a bit of a prejudice against inspirational romance. Over the years I have read some that are just plain awful, some that abound with such a judgmental attitude that I feel I am being smacked in the face every time I pick the book up and some that have so much preaching I want to skip that weeks visit to church. For the most part I avoid the books. While I can manage to pick up a clunker in any genre I seem to have a special knack for it with this one.
Fortunately, this book quickly banished those past experiences; Surprising since it begins with a bit of a TSTL (too stupid to live) moment. Lady Constance Morrow is horrified when she finds out that her beloved Uncle Skelly is being deported to America for speaking against the King and slips away from the protection of family and servants to say a final goodbye to him on the ship taking him to the Colonies. The captain, seeing a young woman without protection, quickly adds her to the group of female felons he has changed down below who will serve as brides for the colonists. Travel in 1634 is no picnic and Constance finds herself hungry, dirty and devastated as her uncle dies and she lands in the Colonies with no way to prove who she is. Enter Drew O'Connor, a man not looking for a wife but who, with a few twists of fate, finds himself attached to Lady Constance.
Watching these two fall in love was a ton of fun. There were some truly hilarious moments between the two of them as they adapted to life seen through each others eyes. One memorable moment involving a shared trencher and two very hungry people had me laughing out loud but many others had me snickering, giggling and smiling my way through the book. I loved that Constance wasn't a doormat/Sunday school teacher type heroine but an honest to God woman who got cranky, could be selfish, liked to use her mind and was strong willed without (for the most part) using that will for TSTL'ness. Drew seems like one of those men turned bitter by the hardness of life (and he has a tough one) at first but pretty quickly we are shown the gentle heart beneath the tough exterior. His struggle at one point to determine if lust was an acceptable emotion or if his love was supposed to be something pure and he was somehow tainting everything was funny and touching, rather than heavy handed or preachy. There wasn't an assumption of what constituted good, Christian behavior from either of them and that made them seem very life like to me, very much like christian people I know in the real world. They didn't spout bible verses at every problem, nor did they indulge in judging their neighbors constantly. If I am harping on this issue I apologize but many an inspirational romance has lost me over just such things.
The book is sweet rather than hot and towards the end I felt the author was tacking on a bit to stretch things but the epilogue is great and the feel of the book overall brought a smile to my face. If you have been interested in giving an inspirational a try this might be the one to do it with.
Tea: How about something truly American? Here is a link to a recipe for Pumpkin Tea Bread! Seasonal, unique to our country (at least at first) and colonial (not sure about the bread but the pumpkin itself assuredly was!) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Tea-Bread/Detail.aspx
Invisible Lives
Author: Anjali Banerjee
Genre: Chick Lit/Contemp Romance
Grade: A
Lakshmi Sen was visited by the goddess before her birth. She was promised gorgeous hair (on which she was advised to use only herbal shampoos) and a special gift. Laksmi's special gift is her ability to see the perfect sari, the sari that will help her customer solve problems, win hearts and find happiness and she uses that ability day in and day out as a partner in her mother's sari shop.
She knows there is something special about the day her gift shows her pink bubbles of happiness surrounding her mother so she isn't surprised when their shop lands a huge customer and she simultaneously finds out her mother has begun arranging her marriage to a handsome Indian doctor. But she is surprised when her gift begins to fail around the important Bollywood client's chauffeur. More, she is surprised to find out just how much she has in common with the charming, very American Nick.
This book has a delicious touch of magic much like Sarah Addison Allen's "Garden Spells". It was fun watching Laksmi use that magical gift to help others reach their full potential. It was also great to learn a very little bit about sari's -- the story of their origin, how they are worn, what colors are worn when. While the book is firmly set in America it also highlights just how Indian American's are thoroughly tied to their community both through the small taste of home they have here and their frequent trips back to the mother country. It was fascinating reading about Laksmi's tie to her roots and her own internal struggle on fitting in in the much freer American culture while staying true to her past. I love books with a sweet sense of humor and this one abounded with that quality.
Lakshmi is a wonderful, well drawn out character. It is easy to understand what motivates her throughout the book and while she is a complete sweetheart she is no doormat. She stands up for people when she needs to including giving aid to a young woman who wants to escape an arranged marriage. She has her choice of two potential heroes and while I was thrilled with the one she chose I liked the other guy enough to wish he had had a love story too. The secondary romances and what Lakshmi learns about her own parents love story make a good background for Lakshmi's own tale, really giving the book a feel of being full of romance.
Ms. Banerjee is writing children's books right now, which is a shame. I felt like this book was so great, so fun I could definitely have done with many more works like it from her.
Tea: Here is a link to a recipe for Indian Milk Tea, which is mentioned in the book. http://www.chai-tea.org/rec/rec103.html
Genre: Chick Lit/Contemp Romance
Grade: A
Lakshmi Sen was visited by the goddess before her birth. She was promised gorgeous hair (on which she was advised to use only herbal shampoos) and a special gift. Laksmi's special gift is her ability to see the perfect sari, the sari that will help her customer solve problems, win hearts and find happiness and she uses that ability day in and day out as a partner in her mother's sari shop.
She knows there is something special about the day her gift shows her pink bubbles of happiness surrounding her mother so she isn't surprised when their shop lands a huge customer and she simultaneously finds out her mother has begun arranging her marriage to a handsome Indian doctor. But she is surprised when her gift begins to fail around the important Bollywood client's chauffeur. More, she is surprised to find out just how much she has in common with the charming, very American Nick.
This book has a delicious touch of magic much like Sarah Addison Allen's "Garden Spells". It was fun watching Laksmi use that magical gift to help others reach their full potential. It was also great to learn a very little bit about sari's -- the story of their origin, how they are worn, what colors are worn when. While the book is firmly set in America it also highlights just how Indian American's are thoroughly tied to their community both through the small taste of home they have here and their frequent trips back to the mother country. It was fascinating reading about Laksmi's tie to her roots and her own internal struggle on fitting in in the much freer American culture while staying true to her past. I love books with a sweet sense of humor and this one abounded with that quality.
Lakshmi is a wonderful, well drawn out character. It is easy to understand what motivates her throughout the book and while she is a complete sweetheart she is no doormat. She stands up for people when she needs to including giving aid to a young woman who wants to escape an arranged marriage. She has her choice of two potential heroes and while I was thrilled with the one she chose I liked the other guy enough to wish he had had a love story too. The secondary romances and what Lakshmi learns about her own parents love story make a good background for Lakshmi's own tale, really giving the book a feel of being full of romance.
Ms. Banerjee is writing children's books right now, which is a shame. I felt like this book was so great, so fun I could definitely have done with many more works like it from her.
Tea: Here is a link to a recipe for Indian Milk Tea, which is mentioned in the book. http://www.chai-tea.org/rec/rec103.html
Lucy Gets Her Life Back
Author: Stef Ann Holm
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Grade: C
Moving from Boise to the small town of Red Duck, Idaho may seem counter intuitive for a personal chef like Lucy Carpenter but Red Duck has the two things Lucy most needs: celebrity clientele and a down home atmosphere in which to raise her two "lost" boys. Both Jason and Mattie have been struggling since their father walked out on them two years ago and Lucy is happy to find them a fresh start in a small town.
Former pro baseball player Drew Tolman has gone from playing in the Bigs to coaching the Little League but he loves it. He never feels as alive anywhere else as he does on the diamond. So why is it that this year he finds himself watching the stands,looking for one of his star players mothers, rather than the pitcher's mound.
One of the tough things about reading books about single parents when you are a parent is that you tend to question their every parenting decision. Lucy is a good, caring parent but some of the things she did made me want to ask her what the heck she was thinking. The initial move was one of those things and it took me awhile to get over that.
I also had a tough time picturing Lucy and Drew together. At one point he says that the Laker Girls he has over for a party have no substance while Lucy has substance because she is more "real". That seemed pretty darn silly to me -- those girls would have plenty of substance to go with their looks and ambition. Try outs for jobs like that are relentless and difficult. Individual ones might be selfish but really, insubstantial? I didn't buy it. Additionally, Lucy was an "every woman" who simply didn't catch my heart. She was very much like the women I hang out with every day but she lacked their individuality and spark. To do a compare/contrast Goldy the Caterer from The Goldy Culinary Mysteries is an every woman but as a caterer (kinda like Lucy) she describes food in rich, lush detail. She describes her friends, the weather, tooling around town. All that gives Goldy a sense of the unique I don't get from Lucy. I think that might be writing style though. I didn't get a strong picture of Lucy or Drew but I think the author's style is all about what the characters are thinking. In some ways that imparts insight but in a lot of ways it leaves you grasping for details. In this case, I just felt that I might understand what the characters were thinking and feeling to an extent but I didn't get the why. It was like their emotions were all internal and nothing happened that changed or affected them.
My other quibble was with the kids. Being the mother of two boys I have had the chance to observe boy behavior first hand. These kids did not ring true at all. There was an imbalance between their behaviors, attitudes and language that would yank me out of the story on a regular basis. In particular one characters use of the phrase "bang a lang" rang especially untrue. I don't know a single kid with the guts to do that unless they were using it as some kind of signature phrase. It sounded fifties and silly and caused pictures of "Leave it to Beaver" to flash through my mind.
There is a sweet secondary friendship that leads to another character finding romance which I liked but that wasn't enough to save the book.
I struggled to finish but it wasn't a bad book. Just also not a good one.
Tea: Nothing fancy. Maybe a Lipton tea bag with a bit of splenda.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Grade: C
Moving from Boise to the small town of Red Duck, Idaho may seem counter intuitive for a personal chef like Lucy Carpenter but Red Duck has the two things Lucy most needs: celebrity clientele and a down home atmosphere in which to raise her two "lost" boys. Both Jason and Mattie have been struggling since their father walked out on them two years ago and Lucy is happy to find them a fresh start in a small town.
Former pro baseball player Drew Tolman has gone from playing in the Bigs to coaching the Little League but he loves it. He never feels as alive anywhere else as he does on the diamond. So why is it that this year he finds himself watching the stands,looking for one of his star players mothers, rather than the pitcher's mound.
One of the tough things about reading books about single parents when you are a parent is that you tend to question their every parenting decision. Lucy is a good, caring parent but some of the things she did made me want to ask her what the heck she was thinking. The initial move was one of those things and it took me awhile to get over that.
I also had a tough time picturing Lucy and Drew together. At one point he says that the Laker Girls he has over for a party have no substance while Lucy has substance because she is more "real". That seemed pretty darn silly to me -- those girls would have plenty of substance to go with their looks and ambition. Try outs for jobs like that are relentless and difficult. Individual ones might be selfish but really, insubstantial? I didn't buy it. Additionally, Lucy was an "every woman" who simply didn't catch my heart. She was very much like the women I hang out with every day but she lacked their individuality and spark. To do a compare/contrast Goldy the Caterer from The Goldy Culinary Mysteries is an every woman but as a caterer (kinda like Lucy) she describes food in rich, lush detail. She describes her friends, the weather, tooling around town. All that gives Goldy a sense of the unique I don't get from Lucy. I think that might be writing style though. I didn't get a strong picture of Lucy or Drew but I think the author's style is all about what the characters are thinking. In some ways that imparts insight but in a lot of ways it leaves you grasping for details. In this case, I just felt that I might understand what the characters were thinking and feeling to an extent but I didn't get the why. It was like their emotions were all internal and nothing happened that changed or affected them.
My other quibble was with the kids. Being the mother of two boys I have had the chance to observe boy behavior first hand. These kids did not ring true at all. There was an imbalance between their behaviors, attitudes and language that would yank me out of the story on a regular basis. In particular one characters use of the phrase "bang a lang" rang especially untrue. I don't know a single kid with the guts to do that unless they were using it as some kind of signature phrase. It sounded fifties and silly and caused pictures of "Leave it to Beaver" to flash through my mind.
There is a sweet secondary friendship that leads to another character finding romance which I liked but that wasn't enough to save the book.
I struggled to finish but it wasn't a bad book. Just also not a good one.
Tea: Nothing fancy. Maybe a Lipton tea bag with a bit of splenda.
The English Wife
The English Wife
Doreen Roberts
Grade: C/C-
I picked this book up because it was a cover contest winner and part of my 9 in 09 challenge. The back blurb sounded intriguing and in line with my usual tastes. The story is about Marjorie Maitland, a staid, predictable women who finds herself at loose ends when her domineering husband dies. Still, she expects life to go on pretty much as before until she sits down for the reading of the will. This one act turns her life completely upside down. Not only is her financial situation difficult but there is a property she didn't know she even owned -- in the South of England of all places -- that is being "rented" by a woman paying zero rent. As Marjorie tries to solve the riddle of why her husband kept this property a secret from her she learns a lot about the husband she never knew and becomes the women he had never really let her become but that she was always meant to be.
My problems with this book are myriad. The whole premise made no sense to me. If a man wants to buy his mistress/former lover a house, why not put the deed in her name? Why keep hold of the property and then leave it to your wife? When Marjorie gets to England and finds out her husband had a whole other family of which she knew nothing I could understand her righteous anger. What I couldn't understand was everyone around her insisting that the people in that cottage were family to her and that the reason Donald left the cottage to her was that he wanted her to get to know his daughter (from a previous liaison) and the daughter's children. I was stunned that Marjorie ran with this idea, insisting on helping the girl and then turning herself into a grandma to the girl's children. Call me mean and evil but that just wouldn't happen with me. I think what was disturbing about it though was the idea that seemed to permeate the book that this was the only right choice. That a woman who had gone in there and said, "Look, sorry but your Dad didn't leave you the house and I am currently broke. As a gesture of charity I'll go halfsies with you -- we can either sell and split the money or you can buy me out." would have been considered selfish. And as we all know, a romance novel heroine can never, ever be selfish.
To add to my disgust it is clear that Donald, the former husband and father, was a nasty character. Not nasty in the sense of a gun toting villain but nasty in small, cruel ways with both families. I was stunned that this didn't affect Marjorie more. Gillian, the daughter, at least had a proper sense of bitterness ;-) but Marjorie was so quick to forgive, with so little internal wrestling over the issue it just felt wrong to me..
There is a romance which I think was meant to be sweet but in light of everything that was happening it didn't really make an impression on me.
Overall, a disappointing read.
Tea: Unworthy of a cuppa.
Doreen Roberts
Grade: C/C-
I picked this book up because it was a cover contest winner and part of my 9 in 09 challenge. The back blurb sounded intriguing and in line with my usual tastes. The story is about Marjorie Maitland, a staid, predictable women who finds herself at loose ends when her domineering husband dies. Still, she expects life to go on pretty much as before until she sits down for the reading of the will. This one act turns her life completely upside down. Not only is her financial situation difficult but there is a property she didn't know she even owned -- in the South of England of all places -- that is being "rented" by a woman paying zero rent. As Marjorie tries to solve the riddle of why her husband kept this property a secret from her she learns a lot about the husband she never knew and becomes the women he had never really let her become but that she was always meant to be.
My problems with this book are myriad. The whole premise made no sense to me. If a man wants to buy his mistress/former lover a house, why not put the deed in her name? Why keep hold of the property and then leave it to your wife? When Marjorie gets to England and finds out her husband had a whole other family of which she knew nothing I could understand her righteous anger. What I couldn't understand was everyone around her insisting that the people in that cottage were family to her and that the reason Donald left the cottage to her was that he wanted her to get to know his daughter (from a previous liaison) and the daughter's children. I was stunned that Marjorie ran with this idea, insisting on helping the girl and then turning herself into a grandma to the girl's children. Call me mean and evil but that just wouldn't happen with me. I think what was disturbing about it though was the idea that seemed to permeate the book that this was the only right choice. That a woman who had gone in there and said, "Look, sorry but your Dad didn't leave you the house and I am currently broke. As a gesture of charity I'll go halfsies with you -- we can either sell and split the money or you can buy me out." would have been considered selfish. And as we all know, a romance novel heroine can never, ever be selfish.
To add to my disgust it is clear that Donald, the former husband and father, was a nasty character. Not nasty in the sense of a gun toting villain but nasty in small, cruel ways with both families. I was stunned that this didn't affect Marjorie more. Gillian, the daughter, at least had a proper sense of bitterness ;-) but Marjorie was so quick to forgive, with so little internal wrestling over the issue it just felt wrong to me..
There is a romance which I think was meant to be sweet but in light of everything that was happening it didn't really make an impression on me.
Overall, a disappointing read.
Tea: Unworthy of a cuppa.
Imaginary Men
author: Anjali Banerjee
Grade: A/B
Lina is an Indian-American woman, proud of her heritage but in love with all the conveniences, freedoms, and wonders of her San Francisco home. She works as a match maker and takes no small amount of teasing -- and not so teasing -- hints that she needs to find her own man soon. Desperate to escape her aunt's plans to have her engaged while she is on a visit to Kolkata she makes up the perfect man and claims an engagement to him. But what is she to do in the face of her family's happiness? She enters a round of whirlwind, comical dates searching for Mr. Right. But what if Mr. Right is actually the man she thought was Mr. Wrong when she first met him?
What if a rather staid Prince looking for a traditional girl is actually falling for a rather hip, liberated American woman?
I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a good mix of humor and romance. The feel is more chick lit but story is all about Lina finding Mr. Right. I loved the setting and the feel of the blending of the two cultures. It was hard to grade because while it had some of the mistakes that are common in a first book it had a lot of charm and fun too. Lina, as the main character, can be a bit annoying but she is also warm hearted and charming. Rajah is all a prince should be in terms of looks and manners but he can be a bit overbearing too. I wish we had spent more time with them as a couple but that is my one quibble.
Tea: Chai. Chai all the way.
Grade: A/B
Lina is an Indian-American woman, proud of her heritage but in love with all the conveniences, freedoms, and wonders of her San Francisco home. She works as a match maker and takes no small amount of teasing -- and not so teasing -- hints that she needs to find her own man soon. Desperate to escape her aunt's plans to have her engaged while she is on a visit to Kolkata she makes up the perfect man and claims an engagement to him. But what is she to do in the face of her family's happiness? She enters a round of whirlwind, comical dates searching for Mr. Right. But what if Mr. Right is actually the man she thought was Mr. Wrong when she first met him?
What if a rather staid Prince looking for a traditional girl is actually falling for a rather hip, liberated American woman?
I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a good mix of humor and romance. The feel is more chick lit but story is all about Lina finding Mr. Right. I loved the setting and the feel of the blending of the two cultures. It was hard to grade because while it had some of the mistakes that are common in a first book it had a lot of charm and fun too. Lina, as the main character, can be a bit annoying but she is also warm hearted and charming. Rajah is all a prince should be in terms of looks and manners but he can be a bit overbearing too. I wish we had spent more time with them as a couple but that is my one quibble.
Tea: Chai. Chai all the way.
Gone
Author: Michael Grant
Genre: YA Sci Fi
Grade: A-/B+
In an instant life in Perdido Beach, CA takes a bizarre and dangerous turn. All people over 15 years of age vanish in the blink of an eye -- while they are driving, teaching, farming -- all of them literally disappear right before the eyes of the children around them. Initially the kids hope for rescue -- since internet and phone services are also gone they reason that someone, somewhere has realized that Perdido Beach has fallen off the map quite suddenly. But their hope for help from the outside dwindles as night and day pass with no help. And then they start to realize that the animals have mutated. And worse, they start to realize that not just the animals are mutating. When your oldest citizen is only fourteen, what kind of society can you build? Who will be in charge? And will kids listen when it is just another kid talking?
I loved the lead characters in this book. Sam seemed very real to me. A likable, responsible kid, not a genius, with a quiet leadership style that was both appealing and appropriate. Astrid as his sidekick was great as well -- smart but not at all know it all. Both of them showed a proper lack of knowledge that fit with their age while at the same time showing a willingness to learn which really fit with their situation. Their interactions seemed natural too.
Little Pete, Astrid's autistic little brother, is the first autistic character I've encountered in a book who actually reads like he has autism. I like him and I love the way Astrid is with him. She reminded me of many, many older siblings I have known of children with autism.
The book was a little long but I was curious enough to see what would happen to keep going through the rough spots. The premise was intriguing and I liked the "Lord of the Flies" vibe which seemed to resonate throughout the novel. I really appreciated how the book dealt with the idea of good and evil -- it did not show the kids being perfect but nor were they evil or immune to guilt. I thought the author balanced everything well and showed a real knowledge of human nature. Not as strong as "The Hunger Games" but riveting nonetheless.
Tea: Black tea, no flavors.
Genre: YA Sci Fi
Grade: A-/B+
In an instant life in Perdido Beach, CA takes a bizarre and dangerous turn. All people over 15 years of age vanish in the blink of an eye -- while they are driving, teaching, farming -- all of them literally disappear right before the eyes of the children around them. Initially the kids hope for rescue -- since internet and phone services are also gone they reason that someone, somewhere has realized that Perdido Beach has fallen off the map quite suddenly. But their hope for help from the outside dwindles as night and day pass with no help. And then they start to realize that the animals have mutated. And worse, they start to realize that not just the animals are mutating. When your oldest citizen is only fourteen, what kind of society can you build? Who will be in charge? And will kids listen when it is just another kid talking?
I loved the lead characters in this book. Sam seemed very real to me. A likable, responsible kid, not a genius, with a quiet leadership style that was both appealing and appropriate. Astrid as his sidekick was great as well -- smart but not at all know it all. Both of them showed a proper lack of knowledge that fit with their age while at the same time showing a willingness to learn which really fit with their situation. Their interactions seemed natural too.
Little Pete, Astrid's autistic little brother, is the first autistic character I've encountered in a book who actually reads like he has autism. I like him and I love the way Astrid is with him. She reminded me of many, many older siblings I have known of children with autism.
The book was a little long but I was curious enough to see what would happen to keep going through the rough spots. The premise was intriguing and I liked the "Lord of the Flies" vibe which seemed to resonate throughout the novel. I really appreciated how the book dealt with the idea of good and evil -- it did not show the kids being perfect but nor were they evil or immune to guilt. I thought the author balanced everything well and showed a real knowledge of human nature. Not as strong as "The Hunger Games" but riveting nonetheless.
Tea: Black tea, no flavors.
Death Wore White
Genre: British Crime Novel
Author: Jim Kelly
Grade: B+
The cover is what pulled me into this one -- a lone man walking towards a car in a snow storm. I've lived in the far north and live in what most would consider a "Northern" area now so I know the scene is nowhere as innocent or peaceful as it looks. Anyone who has ever lived in serious snow conditions knows that weather that looks Christmassy can actually be quite deadly. But I digress. . .
DI Peter Shaw and DS George Valentine are on a somewhat routine mission of retrieving a barrel of toxic waste -- hazardous enough -- when they come across a body in the sea. With snow coming and the tide changing the scene of their crime -- not to add that the barrel of toxic gunk they were tipped about is bobbing along somewhere in the water they are standing in -- the two men work fast to secure their scene. And then they stumble across another. . . . Does their proximity mean a relationship? And why does the body count on a crime they are getting nowhere solving seem to keep rising?
What I loved about this novel is NO SERIAL KILLERS. Yes, odd though it may seem many people are killed for gain or revenge or just plain cruelty without any hint of a psycho in sight. (Well, technically all killers are a tad psycho but again, digression!) The build up is slow but escalates as the novel goes on. And I loved how it built up, piece by piece, layer by layer. Peter Shaw is a great character, a meticulous policeman who makes modern police work intriguing. I loved the fact that this character was routine and by the book, with very few maverick tendencies. And I liked his ability to wait patiently for all the pieces of a puzzle to fall into place -- he used his "gut" but wasn't ruled by it.
Shaw and Valentine have an unusual history and that is delicately explored as well. It involves a case and I loved seeing them bring the same balance from the past that they did to the present. This is one of the few books I have seen that celebrates the modern, PC policeman and shows just what science has brought to the table of crime solving in the last few years. Even though I swore to myself I WOULD NOT BE READING MORE SERIES BOOKS I am of course looking forward to book two in this series. Sigh. Someday I will run across a non series book. Honestly. It's gonna happen any day now.
Tea: English Breakfast Tea.
Author: Jim Kelly
Grade: B+
The cover is what pulled me into this one -- a lone man walking towards a car in a snow storm. I've lived in the far north and live in what most would consider a "Northern" area now so I know the scene is nowhere as innocent or peaceful as it looks. Anyone who has ever lived in serious snow conditions knows that weather that looks Christmassy can actually be quite deadly. But I digress. . .
DI Peter Shaw and DS George Valentine are on a somewhat routine mission of retrieving a barrel of toxic waste -- hazardous enough -- when they come across a body in the sea. With snow coming and the tide changing the scene of their crime -- not to add that the barrel of toxic gunk they were tipped about is bobbing along somewhere in the water they are standing in -- the two men work fast to secure their scene. And then they stumble across another. . . . Does their proximity mean a relationship? And why does the body count on a crime they are getting nowhere solving seem to keep rising?
What I loved about this novel is NO SERIAL KILLERS. Yes, odd though it may seem many people are killed for gain or revenge or just plain cruelty without any hint of a psycho in sight. (Well, technically all killers are a tad psycho but again, digression!) The build up is slow but escalates as the novel goes on. And I loved how it built up, piece by piece, layer by layer. Peter Shaw is a great character, a meticulous policeman who makes modern police work intriguing. I loved the fact that this character was routine and by the book, with very few maverick tendencies. And I liked his ability to wait patiently for all the pieces of a puzzle to fall into place -- he used his "gut" but wasn't ruled by it.
Shaw and Valentine have an unusual history and that is delicately explored as well. It involves a case and I loved seeing them bring the same balance from the past that they did to the present. This is one of the few books I have seen that celebrates the modern, PC policeman and shows just what science has brought to the table of crime solving in the last few years. Even though I swore to myself I WOULD NOT BE READING MORE SERIES BOOKS I am of course looking forward to book two in this series. Sigh. Someday I will run across a non series book. Honestly. It's gonna happen any day now.
Tea: English Breakfast Tea.
Curing the Blues with a New Pair of Shoes
Author: Dixie Carter
Genre: Contemp Romance?
Grade: C
This is one of those "sort of" books. Its sort of a mystery. Sort of a romance and sort of chick lit. That can work but in this case my end response is that as a result of that the book is only "sort of" good Wink
Judd Hogg's big plan to put Hogg's Drive In back in the black is to exploit their Elvis connection and throw a big celebration for the King's birthday. He has even borrowed a pair of Elvis's blue suede shoes from a museum in Vegas to display at $5.00 per viewing. The only problem? Elvis's shoes go missing before anyone even gets a look.
The Domesitc Equalizers, Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin, are among the first Judd calls. He knows that Billy Don, the sheriff, won't be worth a dang and wants to get some real help. Debbie Sue, anxious to solve the case herself, convinces Judd they can handle it and encourages him not to get any other police involved. They stick an old pair of gray slippers in the display case, assure everyone they really look like blue suede and head off to their day job at the Styling Station, a gas station Debbie Sue converted into a beauty parlor.
As the town fills up with people ready to celebrate Elvis's big day, Debbie Sue and Ed find themselves helping star crossed lovers, running a beauty parlor and town festival, and looking for a pair of blue suede shoes in a crowd of Elvis fans.
This book was thin on plot and heavy on Texas cliches. In fact, you were reminded you were in Texas just about every ten minutes. I felt the two heroines stumbled across the answer as opposed to actually solving anything but in fairness, they didn't really have time. They also felt "off". I think they were supposed to be late 30's early 40's but they felt older than that by about a decade or so. The book also had a thing for overweight people -- in one scene they were actually kind of mean to a couple of chubby kids.
It's not a bad read, I was able to finish it and it had some cute moments, but unless you love Texas or Elvis (or both) I would give it a miss.
Tea: Iced tea all the way. Go with the real southern experience and add a mint leaf!
Genre: Contemp Romance?
Grade: C
This is one of those "sort of" books. Its sort of a mystery. Sort of a romance and sort of chick lit. That can work but in this case my end response is that as a result of that the book is only "sort of" good Wink
Judd Hogg's big plan to put Hogg's Drive In back in the black is to exploit their Elvis connection and throw a big celebration for the King's birthday. He has even borrowed a pair of Elvis's blue suede shoes from a museum in Vegas to display at $5.00 per viewing. The only problem? Elvis's shoes go missing before anyone even gets a look.
The Domesitc Equalizers, Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin, are among the first Judd calls. He knows that Billy Don, the sheriff, won't be worth a dang and wants to get some real help. Debbie Sue, anxious to solve the case herself, convinces Judd they can handle it and encourages him not to get any other police involved. They stick an old pair of gray slippers in the display case, assure everyone they really look like blue suede and head off to their day job at the Styling Station, a gas station Debbie Sue converted into a beauty parlor.
As the town fills up with people ready to celebrate Elvis's big day, Debbie Sue and Ed find themselves helping star crossed lovers, running a beauty parlor and town festival, and looking for a pair of blue suede shoes in a crowd of Elvis fans.
This book was thin on plot and heavy on Texas cliches. In fact, you were reminded you were in Texas just about every ten minutes. I felt the two heroines stumbled across the answer as opposed to actually solving anything but in fairness, they didn't really have time. They also felt "off". I think they were supposed to be late 30's early 40's but they felt older than that by about a decade or so. The book also had a thing for overweight people -- in one scene they were actually kind of mean to a couple of chubby kids.
It's not a bad read, I was able to finish it and it had some cute moments, but unless you love Texas or Elvis (or both) I would give it a miss.
Tea: Iced tea all the way. Go with the real southern experience and add a mint leaf!
Sworn to Silence
Author: Linda Castillo
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Kate Burkholder is sheriff of a quiet rural community that includes a small population of Amish. In fact, she was once Amish before her life was marred by tragedy and she chose to leave the church. Back home after a few years of wild living (and then the requisite police training) she is able to bridge the gap between the peacefully coexisting "English" and Amish. Most of the time her hardest job is dealing with traffic fatalities or stopping someone's cows from causing said fatalities. So when one of her deputies on a routine cattle roundup comes across a body everyone's initial speculation is car accident. But pretty quickly that changes . . . .
John Tomesati has lived through a horrific tragedy of his own and is now just coasting through his life waiting for BCI (The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation) to fire him. When he is placed on a screw-up-and-you-are-gone-without-a-pension assignment to Kate's small town of Painters Mill he is surprised to find himself coming back to life.
Together the two of them have to face a horrific ghost from Kate's past. A ghost that is killing towns people at a rather alarming rate. . .
This is a good but not exceptional thriller. I liked the idea of an Amish raised police chief but aside from the fact that Kate knows the language and customs that factor is never explored. On a personal level, I was rather stunned by how John and Kate's pasts didn't even cause my eyebrows to raise. Guess I felt the whole thing was so foreshadowed that I felt like there was just no real surprise when it finally happened.
Last, but for sure not least, I was disappointed with the end. One of the secondary characters in the book has just found out something huge, the whole town should have been shaken by the reveal of the who the killer was but none of that was dealt with. I've read that Castillo plans to make a series of this (sigh, does no one just write a book anymore?) but really, I felt that the resolution of those issues deserved to be dealt with in this book.
Overall a good mystery read though.
Tea: Much as the Amish hate the English ;-) I have to recommend a pot of London Fruit & Herb Tea. Since it is fall let's go with Apple and Cinnamon Twist. But my REAL recommendations are what accompany it. I am addicted to Essenhaus extra wide noodles which can be boiled in chicken broth and taste like fat dumplings. Utterly yummy!
maggie b.
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Kate Burkholder is sheriff of a quiet rural community that includes a small population of Amish. In fact, she was once Amish before her life was marred by tragedy and she chose to leave the church. Back home after a few years of wild living (and then the requisite police training) she is able to bridge the gap between the peacefully coexisting "English" and Amish. Most of the time her hardest job is dealing with traffic fatalities or stopping someone's cows from causing said fatalities. So when one of her deputies on a routine cattle roundup comes across a body everyone's initial speculation is car accident. But pretty quickly that changes . . . .
John Tomesati has lived through a horrific tragedy of his own and is now just coasting through his life waiting for BCI (The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation) to fire him. When he is placed on a screw-up-and-you-are-gone-without-a-pension assignment to Kate's small town of Painters Mill he is surprised to find himself coming back to life.
Together the two of them have to face a horrific ghost from Kate's past. A ghost that is killing towns people at a rather alarming rate. . .
This is a good but not exceptional thriller. I liked the idea of an Amish raised police chief but aside from the fact that Kate knows the language and customs that factor is never explored. On a personal level, I was rather stunned by how John and Kate's pasts didn't even cause my eyebrows to raise. Guess I felt the whole thing was so foreshadowed that I felt like there was just no real surprise when it finally happened.
Last, but for sure not least, I was disappointed with the end. One of the secondary characters in the book has just found out something huge, the whole town should have been shaken by the reveal of the who the killer was but none of that was dealt with. I've read that Castillo plans to make a series of this (sigh, does no one just write a book anymore?) but really, I felt that the resolution of those issues deserved to be dealt with in this book.
Overall a good mystery read though.
Tea: Much as the Amish hate the English ;-) I have to recommend a pot of London Fruit & Herb Tea. Since it is fall let's go with Apple and Cinnamon Twist. But my REAL recommendations are what accompany it. I am addicted to Essenhaus extra wide noodles which can be boiled in chicken broth and taste like fat dumplings. Utterly yummy!
maggie b.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Shanghai Girls
Shanghai Girls
Author: Lisa See
Writing Style: B/3
Plot:B-/C+/2.5
Characterization: D1
Overall Grade: 6.5 out of 12 possible points, so about a C+
One thing I love about first person POV is that it allows the character to explain selfishness or ignorance in a way that keeps them sympathetic. For example, in "What I Saw and How I Lied" by Judy Blundell the main character doesn't understand something the reader does but her ignorance does not appear TSTL because you see her ascribing the best possible motives to people. It is her inherent desire to believe good of the people around her that keeps her from seeing something that the reader (or at least this reader) knows from the getgo is an incriminating act and it is that innocent desire and our knowledge of it that keep her from being TSTL. That unfortunately is not the case in this novel.
PLOT: It is 1937. Pearl and her sister May are two very fortunate young women. They are the educated, wealthy daughters of a merchant in Shanghai, a city that for their class is modern and "Western" in its thinking and culture. Additionally, they work as "beautiful girls" models, posing for paintings that are put on calendars and sold all over the city. Then tragedy strikes as they simultaneously find themselves impoverished, married to strangers and living in a city under attack from the Japanese. They escape from Shanghai and head off towards new lives always knowing that together they can face anything.
Characterization: Pearl was a college educated young women in a time when not many had that opportunity, especially in her culture. She vacillates between moments when she uses her intelligence and times when she is so TSTL it will leave you speechless. May is another conundrum, seemingly rather silly and selfish but at other times stronger and brighter than Pearl. I am sure all human beings are like this to an extent but in most novels we get an understanding of the characters behaviors that isn't given here. All we really see of May is the selfish, spoiled TSTL woman and then we hear of her doing incredible things -- saving lives, plotting her way through political minefields and running a successful company. What makes it even harder to accept is that May will one day plot her way through a minefield (politically speaking) and the next throw someone into deep trouble through a TSTL mistake. Was this just May's incredible selfishness winning out? Did she land the other person in hot water from malice? Or was it her incredible stupidity? I never got a clear feel for that. Pearl has a TSTL moment that is so huge both she and I spend the rest of the book reeling in shock from it.
Writing Style: Easy to read and at times very eloquent. The plotting and inexplicable actions of many of the characters keep it from being great though.
I can't recommend or condemn this book. I found the characters really difficult to like but I was interested in what was happening to them. The author really researched how the Chinese were treated in that time, what they were living through both here and in China and that aspect was interesting. But the story wasn't strong or feel good in any way. The other issue is that the ending is a cliff hanger, leaving several characters futures unknown. I don't know if I will be picking up the sequel or not. If you like the novels of Amy Tan this might work as a very poor substitute, I guess.
Tea: Chinese green tea of course!
maggie b.
Author: Lisa See
Writing Style: B/3
Plot:B-/C+/2.5
Characterization: D1
Overall Grade: 6.5 out of 12 possible points, so about a C+
One thing I love about first person POV is that it allows the character to explain selfishness or ignorance in a way that keeps them sympathetic. For example, in "What I Saw and How I Lied" by Judy Blundell the main character doesn't understand something the reader does but her ignorance does not appear TSTL because you see her ascribing the best possible motives to people. It is her inherent desire to believe good of the people around her that keeps her from seeing something that the reader (or at least this reader) knows from the getgo is an incriminating act and it is that innocent desire and our knowledge of it that keep her from being TSTL. That unfortunately is not the case in this novel.
PLOT: It is 1937. Pearl and her sister May are two very fortunate young women. They are the educated, wealthy daughters of a merchant in Shanghai, a city that for their class is modern and "Western" in its thinking and culture. Additionally, they work as "beautiful girls" models, posing for paintings that are put on calendars and sold all over the city. Then tragedy strikes as they simultaneously find themselves impoverished, married to strangers and living in a city under attack from the Japanese. They escape from Shanghai and head off towards new lives always knowing that together they can face anything.
Characterization: Pearl was a college educated young women in a time when not many had that opportunity, especially in her culture. She vacillates between moments when she uses her intelligence and times when she is so TSTL it will leave you speechless. May is another conundrum, seemingly rather silly and selfish but at other times stronger and brighter than Pearl. I am sure all human beings are like this to an extent but in most novels we get an understanding of the characters behaviors that isn't given here. All we really see of May is the selfish, spoiled TSTL woman and then we hear of her doing incredible things -- saving lives, plotting her way through political minefields and running a successful company. What makes it even harder to accept is that May will one day plot her way through a minefield (politically speaking) and the next throw someone into deep trouble through a TSTL mistake. Was this just May's incredible selfishness winning out? Did she land the other person in hot water from malice? Or was it her incredible stupidity? I never got a clear feel for that. Pearl has a TSTL moment that is so huge both she and I spend the rest of the book reeling in shock from it.
Writing Style: Easy to read and at times very eloquent. The plotting and inexplicable actions of many of the characters keep it from being great though.
I can't recommend or condemn this book. I found the characters really difficult to like but I was interested in what was happening to them. The author really researched how the Chinese were treated in that time, what they were living through both here and in China and that aspect was interesting. But the story wasn't strong or feel good in any way. The other issue is that the ending is a cliff hanger, leaving several characters futures unknown. I don't know if I will be picking up the sequel or not. If you like the novels of Amy Tan this might work as a very poor substitute, I guess.
Tea: Chinese green tea of course!
maggie b.
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