Bad Things by Michael Marshall

This is the second book I received from William Morrow Publishing (the first one was The Strain).   Michael Marshall’s newest novel is due out May 5 in hardcover.  He has been compared to Alfred Hitchcock, Stephen King, and M. Night Shyamalan.  He is a suspense novelist.   I haven’t read any other of Marshall’s books.  This is the first for me. 

 Bad Things is about a man named John who’s four-year-old son dies mysteriously.  The books starts three years after the death and chronicles how John gets sucked into a mystery back in the area where his son died, in a hope that he can also figure out how his son really died.    While trying to figure out what is going on in Black Ridge, he

…learns the hard way that bad things don’t happen only to other people-they’re hiding in the shadows, waiting to worm through the cracks of our lives without warning, and we never even realize they’re there….until it’s too late.

I’m not really sure where to start with this novel.  I didn’t really get hooked into this book until the last 100 pages.  Up until that part, I found it confusing.  And, I didn’t like John, so I didn’t really care what was going on.  But, I stuck it out and as I came to the last third of the book, it started to get suspenseful.  I was still confused, but I finally wanted to know what was going on in this weird town in Washington.  I was intrigued that it seemed to have to do with the supernatural and I wanted to see where the author was going with that angle.

When I reached the last page, I was disappointed.  I feel like I still don’t quite get “it.”  I was a little surprised where all the characters ended up at the end of the book.  To be honest, there are times I often miss something in these types of books or movies and this is one of those times. 

I spent some time trying to think through it all and I didn’t get anywhere.  The whole story was quite convoluted.  There was a side plot that I’m not sure really mattered much to the book and just bogged it down.  Without this side plot, I think the author could have spent more time developing the characters from the main story which may have made the book make more sense (at least to me).   But, as for character development, I was disappointed.  I realize this isn’t a character novel, but I think more development would have made a better suspense novel.  At least I would have cared more.

The supernatural part was interesting.  I think the author was definitely making a societal comment and it was a creative way to do that.  Again, however, I don’t think it was developed enough.  I was still a little confused at the end about exactly what happened and what each character’s role was. 

I am looking forward to my husband reading this one.  I’m sure he will have a different take and I look forward to our discussion.  

 

 

The Patron Saint of Butterflies

As with a lot of the books I read, I saw a review of The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante on a blog (I’m sorry, but it was awhile back and I forget where).  It is a young adult novel about two girls on a religious commune in Connecticut.  It’s a pretty good story.

The book is told, in alternating chapters, by the two main characters, Honey and Agnes.  These two girls live on a religious commune called Mount Blessing, where The Believers live.  One day, when Agnes’ grandmother comes to visit, she discovers there is abuse rampant throughout the commune.  The grandmother, Nana Pete, takes the girls and Agnes’ little brother, Benny, away from the commune.  Honey is happy, Agnes is not, Benny has stopped talking since his accident on the commune.

The method of the story telling from the two different perspectives was effective in this book.  It was interesting  the different takes the two girls had on the same events.  It’s always good to be reminded that not everyone perceives things the same way.  I also liked hearing the girls frustrations with each other as well as their deep love.  While they have been separated from the outside world, they still experience much of the same emtions as a typical adolescent.  It was fascinating to see how these feelings played out in a religious setting that was so very strict.

There were some religious issues addressed which I thought were interesting without being preachy or one-sided.  I liked seeing the two girls struggle with their beliefs as I remember doing, also, as a young woman.  I think many young adult girls would relate to this book on several levels.

I think this book would encourage a good discussion for a book group or even just a mother/daughter pair. 

BTW, the inside of the book jacket indicates that the book was inspired by the author’s own experiences.  I would love to know more about that.  I found her website with her biography where she answers some questions about her writing and how it is related to her life.  Check it out!

The Big Girls — Book Club Pick

I  had heard about The Big Girls, by Susanna Moore, on Booking Mama last year.  When I had gone to the outlets in PA, I saw it and grabbed it up.  Our book club picked it for this month’s read, so I finally got around to reading it. 

This book is about four inter-connected people:  1. a psychiatrist at a women’s prison, Dr. Forrest; 2. a prisoner at the prison, Helen; 3. Capt. Bradshaw, a guard there; and 4.  Angie, a Hollywood actress.  It is told alternating between the four people telling their story. 

This book is quite disturbing.  It is so honestly written that I shuddered several times as I read each person’s story.  The book seemed to be written in a sort of stream on consciousness from each main character’s point of view.  Sometimes this was a little confusing because some thoughts seem to start in the middle of a story somewhere.  But, I found this writing style effective in telling these tales. 

The book touches on mental illness, murder, abuse, sex, and relationships.  It was difficult to read some of the content of this novel, but I’m glad I ploughed through.  As a psychologist myself, I was fascinated by the dynamics in this book.  The psychiatrist is analytical which always provides for some interesting conclusions and theories. 

The relationships between the four people are interesting and quite dysfunctional.  And, they don’t seem to improve as the story progresses.  The ending of the book is a little surprising, at least to me.  Life continues and you still wonder what will happen to these people.

I’ll be interested in how the other members of my book club will react to this book.  We’re all mothers and think many of us will have had some difficulty with this novel.  Although, I think it should make for a good discussion.

New Chick-Lit: An Offer You Can’t Refuse

I saw reviews for this one on a few of my favorite blogs:  Booking Mama, Savvy Verse & Wit, Diary of an Eccentric.  It sounded a like a cute read and when I saw it on my library’s brand new book counter, I grabbed it. 

An Offer You Can’t Refuse, by Jill Mansell, is the story of Lola and the relationships in her life.  At 17, her boyfriend, Dougie’s, mother makes her an offer she can’t refuse in exchange for Lola dumping him.  Ten years later, Lola and Dougie find themselves reaquainted and Lola tries to win him back.  Thrown in there is Lola’s neighbors, Sally and Gabe, her mother, and her new found father, Nick. 

I’m not sure what I want to say about this book.  It was a quick read and I found it amusing.  However, I’m not sure I really liked it much.  I thought all the characters to be too extreme.  While this added some humor, it kind of made the whole thing ridiculous.  I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit. 

As a main character, I felt that Lola was a flake.  While she had a good job as a bookstore manager, which was kind of fun, the rest of her was just silly.  I didn’t find myself routing for her much.  I understood why she took the deal, but I didn’t think her reason for keeping it a secret 10 years later made too much sense. 

Lola’s friend and Dougie’s sister, Sally, was also a ridiculous person.  I’m not sure why the author made these Sally and Lola so silly.  It kind of gave me an annoyed feeling reading about these two women who were just sooo caught up in themselves at their ages. 

The men were a little better, but not much.  Gabe and Nick, Lola’s dad, had the best personalities, I think.  They seemed more like real people than caricatures.

The story was relatively predictable.  There were a few, minor surprises, but nothing too noteworthy.  The ending was what I expected.  I was only surprised that it too so long to get there.  

As I reread this review, I see that’s it’s quite negative.  I don’t want you to think it’s a horrible book, but I just thought it could have been better.  The concept was kind of fun.  There is also some humor if you can appreciate the ridiculous.

A Vampire Book — Definitely not Twilight

Since restarting my blog, I was contacted by William Morrow Publishing and offered some books to read.  The books seemed geared more toward men (don’t role you eyes at me).  It just seemed like books my husband would enjoy more than I.  I asked for two of the books, thinking that if I didn’t read them, my husband would and write a review for me.  Well, one of the books I picked was advertised as a vampire book.  Since I’m into vampires (Twilight, Vampire Diaries, True Blood), I thought I’d check this one out myself.  Well, it definitely wasn’t Twilight, but I enjoyed it anyway.  It was definitely outside my usual box.  So what was it, you ask?  It’s….

The Strain

by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

The book is due out on 6/2.  And, if you like vampires that aren’t hunky teenagers or you like horror books, I would recommend this one to you.  It is the story of an outbreak of vampires in NYC, threatening to annihilate the city within one week, and the world in six months.  This book is the first in a triology to be released. 

This book is written with suspense in mind.  During the first half of the book, I was wondering what was happening (and I knew it was advertised as a vampire book).  It’s not your typical vampire story (even if you’re thinking of Anne Rice).  This book starts out with the CDC, a plane full of dead people, and no explanation.  I was definitely intrigued from the beginning and I couldn’t wait to find out where the authors were going with the whole vampire thing.

And, when we finally find out about the vampires, it’s not a pretty sight.  I thought it may give me nightmares (it didn’t).  The descriptions of the “monsters” were so well done I could picture and “feel” the horror.  It kind of made the blood pump.  I felt the sense of urgency that the main characters felt. 

As for the characters…there were many of them.  However, while I usually get confused with lots of characters appearing and then reappearing, I thought the authors did a good job giving little hints to remind me who the characters were when they reappeared.  I didn’t find myself looking back in the book trying to figure it out (of course, this probably isn’t an issue for many of you).   I wouldn’t say the characters were well developed; they were adequate.  But, it isn’t a character driven book, so that’s okay.

The ending did leave me wanting to know what was going to happen next.  It wasn’t tied up nicely, but they did have a little surprise in the last couple of pages that made me shudder. 

I can definitely see this book as a very scary, very graphic movie.  I’m not sure I’d be ready to watch it on screen, but reading about it was definitely an experience.  While this book is not my usual, I think it was really well done.  I look forward to reading the next books in the series

Historical Fiction/Romance — The Royal Harlot

Doesn’t this title just interest you,  The Royal Harlot?  This historical romance is based on the life of King Charles II and his mistress, Countess Castlemaine written by Susan Holloway Scott.  I’ve read Duchess: A Novel of Susan Churchill by Scott and enjoyed it even though I felt it had a little too much detail and the story got bogged down.  This book doesn’t suffer the same affliction.

This book is written about England about 200 years after all the Tudor drama of the other historical fiction I’m so fond of.  It was interesting to hear how the court, the religious issues, and the country had changed, and NOT changed, in that time.  Of course, there was still lots of drama and women did not make too much progress since Henry was chopping off his wives’ heads. There was still tension between the Catholics and the Church of England.  But, the elegance and decadence of the court was minimal compared to the past.

The story is told from the point of view of the Duchess of Castlemaine.  She seems to be a female Don Juan and she doesn’t apologize for it once.  On one level I found this disturbing, on another, I was proud of her.  I found the Duchess to be a complex character, even though she appears shallow on the surface.  Her plotting is impressive and she knows when to retreat (if at least, temporarily). 

The relationships drive this novel even more than the history.  I think this is why I enjoyed this one so much.  Relationship and character books are my favorite kind.  I don’t always need an exciting plot (not to say nothing happens in this book.  It does cover several years of English history.  However, it’s told from the perspective of how it affected these relationships). 

Of course, there were tons of auxillary characters that I had trouble keeping straight.  But, once I decided not to worry too much about who’s who among them, I was able to follow the main story better.  I have always found the naming of the English noblemen confusing, with their names changing with their new appointments.  Finally, I just gave up and focused on the main characters (whose names changed enough). 

There is a lot of talk about romance and sex.  I felt like I was reading a female version of the book  The Lost Diary of Don Juan(if you haven’t read this one, I would reccommend it!)  I was shocked by some of the sexual escapades from the 1600s court, but it did add to this story (at least for me :>)

So, if historical fiction is for you and you also enjoy romance, definitely check this one out.

Reunion by Therese Fowler

My friend Stephanie, over at Stephanie’s Written Word, has been receiving many many books to review for her blog.  She offered me one of them to read and review, Reunion.  What a treat for me!

This book is about a famous talk-show host who is hiding from the public that she gave her son up for adoption when she was 19.  During her search for her son, she continues to work on her show.  At a location shoot in Key West, she runs into an old boyfriend and his family.  That’s it in a nutshell.

I LOVED this book!  The author’s writing had me hooked from the first chapter.  I already wanted to know what was going to happen.  I was immediately drawn into the main character, Blue Reynold’s, life.  She was a fascinating woman with flaws, but strong and smart nonetheless.  I really liked her. 

Her relationships in the book were interesting and not run of the mill.  Blue was a very lonely person who was desperate to connect, with her mother, her sister, a lover.  But, she was scared to share her secret.  Of course, the secret eventually gets out.  I have to say, the adoption part of the book was actually a secondary plot line.  The main focus was Blue’s current relationships. 

Blue reconnects with her older, ex-boyfriend; her first love she still isn’t over.  She also meets his son, only 9 years her junior.  Hence, a love triangle.  At first, I found this type of love triangle a little creepy while a little exciting.  However, the author handles it very well and it loses it’s creepy factor by the end.  The dynamics were fun to read about and kept me totally engaged.  Did I just use the word totally??

The author’s descriptions were very good.  I could picture the beautiful settings, the characters and experience the emotions.  Like I said before, this is a great book.  I am on a mission to find the author’s first novel, Souvenir, and read it very soon.

Thanks, Stephanie, for the chance to review this one!

A New Look at an Old Fairytale

 

When I started blogging again, I saw two reviews for Godmother — The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turegon at Stephanie’s Written Word and Booking Mama.  After reading the reviews,  I couldn’t wait to read this story.  I usually just add books to my TBR and then when I get to it, I get to it.  But, for some reason, I couldn’t wait for this one.  And, luckily, Stephanie loaned me her copy.

I have to say I really enjoyed this book.  It is the story of Cinderella told from the perspective of her fairy Godmother.  Except her Godmother now lives in modern-day NYC and is trying to redeem herself so she can go back to her fairy world.  Redeem herself from what?  Can’t tell you, but, of course it has to do with Cinderella.  Or does it?

This story was told in an interesting way.  I was hooked from the beginning because I couldn’t figure out where the author was going with this ageless tale.  As the story progressed in modern day, the author provided flashbacks about what really happened in the Cinderella story.  There was a parallel between the past and the present.  While that seemed like a typical writing technique (I’ve seen enough of it in the Jane Austen “sequels”), I didn’t find it cheesey in this book.  The author was able to keep the suspense building, throwing in a few minor characters or sightings that threw me off the expected path.  Even with those minor distractions, I didn’t not see the ending coming.  WOW!  Quite a twist.

I really enjoyed this book.  I was not disappointed even after I built it up from reading the other reviews.  I always am a little surprised when I connect with a book.  I love to read and I enjoy many books.  But, there are a rare few where the story really sticks with me.  I think this one will stick with me for awhile.

In Her Shoes

I read Jennifer Weiner’s Good in Bed and it was a lot of fun.  So, I thought I’d check out this other one and determine whether I wanted to watch the movie.

Well, Jennifer Weiner is great!  These books really made me laugh.  And, what I like the most is that I can really relate to her main characters.  They are women who are smart, strong, and dealing with their body image (since they are not size 6, but size 14).  In both books, the main character was a woman struggling to find love, but always feeling unlovable even though tshe had a lot to offer.  They are both professionally successful, but aren’t sure if they are doing what they want to be doing.  They finally decide to take risks, in both love and work, and find some success.  The success these women find comes with struggle, realistic struggle.  Again, I felt like it was real.  And, I enjoyed how everything does work out for the women, even if it wasn’t what they thought they wanted in the beginning. 

The secondary characters were fun, also.  They added a lot to the stories, including some funny moments.  I think it’s hard to write a funny book and I’m always impressed when I get a laugh.  Jennifer Weiner usually makes me laugh several times!

So, for a couple of feel-good books that makes you smile (and laugh), you should definitely check out Jennifer Weiner’s books.  I just wonder now if the movie can live up to the book?  Has anyone seen In Her Shoes?  How was it?

PS  I just realized I also read Goodnight Nobody and Little Earthquakes.   While I did enjoy Goodnight Nobody, it was more of a chick-lit mystery.  I didn’t find it quite as amusing.  Little Earthquakes I read a long time ago, but remember it was fun.  I am going to check out Certain Girls and The Guy Not Taken-Stories.

Another Addition for my Jane Austen Addiction

 

I found this book on bookmooch.  I was out searching for more fodder for my Jane Austen addiction.  So, when I saw this one, The Man Who Loved Jane Austen, by Sally Smith O’Rourke, I thought I’d give it a try.  It was free, right?  No risk.

Well, this book was the story of the real Fitzwilliam Darcy and how he influenced Jane’s notable work, Pride & Prejudice.  It was a very interesting concept that involved time travel.  Who would have paired time travel and Jane Austen??  It made for a fun book.

The main character, Eliza (approprite, no?), finds two letters in an antique vanity she buys.  The letters appear to be from Jane Austen to Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.  Eliza ends up  getting the letters authenicated.  This leads her on a chase to find out who the real Mr. Darcy is.  Of course, romance, after some bumps, ensue. 

This story has some loose ties to Pride & Prejudice.  Of course, there’s Mr. Darcy, Eliza (Elizabeth Bennet), the best friend and his sister (who, of course, covets Mr. Darcy and tries to embarrass Eliza), the original disdain between characters with a nicely tied up happy ending.  No surpirses, here.  But, nevertheless, it was fun!

If you like romance and Jane Austen and aren’t too picky, this book is a fun, light read to enjoy.  If you’re a Jane Austen purist, you may be annoyed.