Wanderlove

Title: Wanderlove
Author: Bart Cline
Date Read: September 19, 2013
ARC copy direct from author

Summary: What would you do if you were a traveller with severe wanderlust, out of your country for the first time, and you fell in love?

And what would you do if you were separated from your new love after only a few days?

Would you search an entire continent?

Europe is a big place when you’ve lost someone.

It’s worse if you’re on the run.

Worse still if you’re guilty.

It doesn’t get any easier when your only friend is a drug addicted vagabond.

Colleen is a naïve young American touring Europe just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Florian is the experienced traveller she falls in love with. He encourages her to do something she knows she shouldn’t, and then disappears. Colleen, carrying the resultant load of guilt alone, sets out to find him. With the entire European continent to search, she realises she doesn’t really know that much about him, having only a few vague leads to follow, with only her drug-addicted friend for company. A year later, having confronted her guilt and learned some uncomfortable truths about herself, will she still love Florian? Will she ever love anyone or anything again?

A novel of love and travel. goodreads

Review: Bart Cline contacted me through goodreads asking if I'd review a few of his novels. I read the synopses and thought they sounded interesting and agreed. He did mention that the other book he gave me was better than this one, but I thought this book sounded more my speed. When an author contacts me directly, I really want to write a review for them, and a good review, which is what makes this one so hard. Unfortunately, this book was not for me!

Don't get me wrong, I loved the idea of back packing through Europe and I really enjoyed reading about the different towns that Colleen visited. It took me back to my time in Europe and my experiences which are always fun to reminisce about. I also enjoyed the view of Berlin right after the fall of the wall. I haven't read many stories set in that time period so that was new for me. Unfortunately, that's where my good feelings stopped. Even though I enjoyed the different places she went, I felt like the descriptions of the town were general and just information rather than really describing them and helping the reader picture what that town is really like. Even when I've actually been there it was hard to imagine! I also felt that a lot of the book was filler and not needed. There were random conversations that didn't make sense and didn't add anything to story. 

I could even forgive all of that and still enjoy the story but what really ruined this book for me were the characters. In general, I need to connect with the characters to really enjoy a story so this book didn't have much of a chance with me. I can connect with the characters because I hate them, because I can relate to them, because they are inspiring or impressive, just about anything, but if I don't connect in some way, I'm not going to enjoy the book. I really couldn't connect with Colleen. I didn't like her much either. I thought she was a very naive traveler which makes for a very dangerous vacation. I thought she made stupid decisions that led to bad outcomes that could have easily been avoided. I couldn't connect with Florian because I knew NOTHING about him. I couldn't connect with Alsion because I thought her drug addiction was more convenient for the story line than actually thought out. I just didn't like them and couldn't find redeeming qualities.

I also hated the fact that this was a "love story." I may have missed the part where either Colleen or Flo exhibited any kind of romantic feelings or relationship prior to "falling in love." It didn't seem legitimate and definitely didn't warrant a life changing year long journey to reconnect. I felt like something was missing.

I really wanted to like this book and give a good review because of the contact I had with the author, but I pride myself on being fully honest with this blog (which can be both good and bad). I try and review every book I read and don't believe in not writing negative reviews. If I didn't like this book and it wasn't given to me by the author, I would have had no problem writing this review, it just probably would have been harsher. To be honest, I don't DNF but this book made me consider it. I'm sure there are people who would love this novel and everything in it, but it was not for me.

Have you ever come across a situation like this? Other book bloggers or readers who post their reviews somewhere? I'm just going to look at this as a part of being a honest book blogger and roll with the punches. Sorry, Bart!

Midnight Bayou

Title: Midnight Bayou
Author: Nora Roberts
Date Read: September 20, 2013
Format: Audiobook

Summary: The phenomenal #1 New York Times-bestselling author presents a novel set deep in the bayou of Louisiana-where the only witness to a long-ago tragedy is a once-grand house.

Declan Fitzgerald had always been the family maverick, but even he couldn't understand his impulse to buy a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. All he knew was that ever since he first saw Manet Hall, he'd been enchanted-and obsessed-with it. So when the opportunity to buy the house comes up, Declan jumps at the chance to live out a dream.

Determined to restore Manet Hall to its former splendor, Declan begins the daunting renovation room by room, relying on his own labor and skills. But the days spent in total isolation in the empty house take a toll. He is seeing visions of days from a century past, and experiencing sensations of terror and nearly unbearable grief-sensations not his own, but those of a stranger. Local legend has it that the house is haunted, and with every passing day Declan's belief in the ghostly presence grows.

Only the companionship of alluring Angelina Simone can distract him from the mysterious happenings in the house, but Angelina too has her own surprising connection to Manet Hall-a connection that will help Declan uncover a secret that's been buried for a hundred years. goodreads

Review: I tend to be a Nora Roberts fan to begin with. No, she's not deep and mysterious and full of symbolism. But if you want a good love story and a quick read with some substance, she's a go-to. And with Midnight Bayou, girl did not disappoint!

I listened to this book on CD which is rare for me but I'm so happy I did. The narrators had great accents and it really made this book come alive for me. There is no chance I would have been able to imagine a good Cajun accent in my head and actually hearing the voices (not Declan style ;)) speak like the characters transported me to the Bayou as well as the early 1900's.

Rather than a specific character, this story focuses on Manet Hall. I love old plantation houses and love hearing the stories behind them so this book was right up my alley. I really enjoyed the flashbacks to the beginning of the century and the seamless way two love stories were told. At times, it got a little out there with ghosts and re-incarnation stuff but I really enjoyed the overall story line.

You know I'm going to assess the characters and I obviously have to begin with Dec. Nora is known for her leading men and she completely understands what makes women tick when it comes to a main character in novels. Declan was right on par! He was strong, stubborn, rich, and in love. Haha, it sounds ridiculous but he is a guy who any girl could easily fall for. Angelina did not see him coming but even her strong-willed, no nonsense self couldn't deny him. The love story is sweet and believable. The characters are well developed and charming; who wouldn't fall instantly in love with Miss Odette? And the slight ghost story to the plot just adds to it. I would definitely recommend this for a fun read! (and listen to it on "tape" if possible. Did I just age myself or what?!?)

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge Day 11

Show off! 5 of your best blog posts!

How does one determine what is their best blog post? I guess I'll go on page views/comments. Keep in mind, I've only been blogging for about 2 months so the pickings are slim but here are my top 5:

1. Bout of Books Read-a-thon Goals This is my most viewed post by far. It makes sense because I linked up with it but it seemed to be an interesting one.
2. Under the Dome This is another highly viewed one but I also enjoyed writing Stephen King a letter in it.
3. Crumbs Aren't Enough This one was surprising because it was an ARC but the people have spoken!
4. Bout of Books Read-a-thon Once again, this makes sense because it's linked up to a popular page.
5. Anybody But Him Another ARC book but high page views

Overall, my top posts are a little lame. I need to either be more exciting or have a bigger following. But let's see what I can come up with a year from now!!!

Code Name Verity

Title: Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Date Read: September 15, 2013

Summary:  I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team. goodreads



How do I review this book without spoilers? I will try my very best but I may slip up and reveal more than you want so if you are cautious of that, just take my word for it AND READ THIS BOOK!!! Also, this review is chock-full of quotes because the writing was phenomenal and I'll never be able to describe all of my feelings like Ms. Wein can. Here we go:

"It's like being in love, discovering your best friend."

First and foremost, this is a love story. A love story between two best friends. Anyone with a best friend knows exactly what I'm talking about. You may not see the friendship coming, you may not have predicted it, but somehow, someway, it develops and you eventually realize that you are soul mates.

"I don't believe it for a minute- that we wouldn't have become friends somehow-- that an unexploded bomb wouldn't have gone off and blown us both into the same crater, or that God himself wouldn't have come along and knocked our heads together in a flash of green sunlight. But it wouldn't have been likely."

That's the case for Verity and Maddie. They were thrown together during a crisis in WWII and forged an unbreakable bond. From the beginning, each girl admires the other and is impressed by the specific skills that the other does not have. Maddie flies planes (she's a girl who flies planes in WWII!!!) and Verity can speak multiple languages (among other things.) While reading this story I found myself connecting to these two characters in a magical way that can happen in books but does not happen enough. Verity is feisty, snarky, sarcastic, and obviously brilliant. I love it! She's also Scottish to core which reminds me of my beloved Outlander series. One of my favorite quotes from the books that sums Verity up is :

"You know- the stupid man's big mistake was calling me ENGLISH. It made my fury wholly convincing. A whore-maybe I'll consider that in desperation; filthy, it goes without saying; but whatever else the hell I am, I AM NOT ENGLISH."

Se what I mean? That girl is fiesty! Maddie is more subdued but it is obvious that she is equally as brilliant and independent and is all about some girl power. She is cool and calculated but has more power and skill than she gives herself credit for. This quote describes part of Maddie for me:

"Maddie quickly pulled down the blackout curtains over her bright and vulnerable soul and went off to sort the tire."

Who wouldn't like these two?!?

CNV is unique because it provides the reader with the female "soldier" perspective of WWII. There are countless books of male soldiers  and of females who stayed at home to care for the kids. There are even books based around children in the war. It's easy to forget that there were strong, important women with imperative roles in the war and this novel reminds us of that. I also loved the twist in part two of the book when the story changed perspectives. What an awesome way to let us see how sneaky and intelligent Verity is! It gives us an honest view of what actually happened as well as some of the things that Verity may not have known.

And the underlying theme of Peter Pan? Be still my beating heart. I've always had a connection with Peter Pan and remember the movie and my all time favorite, the televised play with Mary Martin (if you haven't seen it, watch it! Or at least make your kids watch it!). While reading this book I laughed, I cried, I had goosebumps, and I easily found myself picturing the 1940s as if I was there with Verity and Maddie. I will never be able to express in words the feelings this book gave me but I would encourage you to find out for yourself. With that, I leave you with the most emotion-provoking line of the whole novel for me:

"The window is always open."

5+++ to be specific

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge Day 10

It's been a while since I did one of these so let's get back to the good stuff!

 

How do you choose what book to read next?

Answering this prompt would imply that there is a method to my madness. Let me assure you, most of the time, there isn't. My TBR is in the triple digits and I am never without a book to read next. I have a ton of books on my nook not to mention the never ending supply from the library and B&N so sometimes it is hard. Over the last few months, I just started reading books alphabetically that are on my nook. I figure, if it's on my nook, I'm planning on reading it and if I don't have any strong opinions, why not start at the beginning? (This is obvious if you look at the books I have reviewed, most of them start with letters early in the alphabet... )

I also have a weird series hoarding habit that I abide by. What the heck is series hoarding? It is a weird, delayed gratification thing where I don't read all of the books in the series right away. I even go so far as to save them. This may sound weird but do you remember the last series you finished? Any hangover? Did you miss the characters? Were you sad that you would never go on an adventure with Harry, Ron, and Hermione again? Yea. Me too. So in order to extend the enjoyment of a series as long as I can, I try to space the books out. This sometimes causes a problem because I don't fully remember what happened in the last book but I usually survive. The reason I told you this sordid tale is because I choose the next book I read based on how much I am missing a certain cast of characters. I also tend to read currently talked about books or ARCs that I get in a timely manner.  It all comes down to, I read whatever strikes my fancy or is the next book in the alphabet. Very scientific!

Book Browse Quiz

One of the blogs I read is Book Bloggers International. This blog is mainly used to connect bloggers with other bloggers. What a concept! I love it. Part of their interviews are the book browse quiz and while I haven't officially been interviewed, (but am considering submitting myself) I thought it would be fun to take the quiz anyway.

I believe there were four options and somehow I found myself falling into three of the categories. What are the chances? *Side note: if I asked my husband that question, he would easily do the math in his head and provide us with a number. But I was a psychology major. I'm more of a social science girl so I'll leave the hard math to him...* Ok, back to the results.

Involved Reader: You don't just love to read books, you love to read about books. For you, half the fun of reading is the thrill of the chase - discovering new books and authors, and discussing your finds with others.

Um, duh. I'm a book blogger. I like to read about books, read books, talk about books, and discover books. Does every book blogger score this one? If not, I would question the validity* of this quiz! *there is the only math a therapist knows. Research statistics. Go me!*

Exacting Reader: You love books but you rarely have as much time to read as you'd like - so you're very particular about the books you choose.

If you read ahead, you will see that the next category is almost mutually exclusive of this category (more research terms, you're welcome.) So I'm going to ignore the results of this part while still putting my faith in the validity of this quiz. (What questions did I answer to get to this point I wonder? I read all the time!)

Eclectic Reader: You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.

Ah yes, once again, this quiz has hit the nail on the head. I'm extremely eclectic. If you think I should read a book, it goes on the TBR list. If a book is highly talked about, it goes on the TBR list. If the book has a pretty cover, it goes on the TBR list. See where I'm going with this. I'm a reading slut. I'll go with any genre, any time. (With the exception of poetry. I hate poetry and have no interest in it.) This makes for a huge TBR but also a vast repertoire of reading experiences(maybe sluts should use the word repertoire when referring to themselves, might class it up a bit. Just a suggestion.)

2 out of 3 ain't bad, eh? I do love books and I do love to read various books and genres. But I think anyone who has every talked to me about books, seen me in B&N, or read my blog would know that. So my question is, awesome quiz or just luck? You decide. To be honest I already decided on the latter but I like to leave things open to interpretation.

And go take the quiz and share your answers with me!!!

Salem Falls

Title: Salem Falls
Author: Jodi Picoult
Date Read: September 7, 2013

Summary: Love can redeem a man...but secrets and lies can condemn him.A handsome stranger comes to the sleepy New England town of Salem Falls in hopes of burying his past: Once a teacher at a girls' prep school, Jack St. Bride was destroyed when a student's crush sparked a powder keg of accusation. Now, washing dishes for Addie Peabody at the Do-Or-Diner, he slips quietly into his new routine, and Addie finds this unassuming man fitting easily inside her heart. But amid the rustic calm of Salem Falls, a quartet of teenage girls harbor dark secrets - and they maliciously target Jack with a shattering allegation. Now, at the center of a modern-day witch hunt, Jack is forced once again to proclaim his innocence: to a town searching for answers, to a justice system where truth becomes a slippery concept written in shades of gray, and to the woman who has come to love him. goodreads

Review: This is actually a tough review for me. I enjoyed the book because I was interested in where the story would go and which characters would be redeemed (or condemned) but I have an overall icky feeling when I think back to it. You may or may not be able to tell from the summary that part of this book is about rape. And multiple rapes at that. I'm going to go ahead and warn you that this book has some heavy stuff in it and the following review will as well, so if you aren't up for that, come back tomorrow :)

To be honest, I didn't know where this book was going. I didn't know who to believe!!! As a therapist, I always want to believe the victim but I also know that victims are humans and human lie. Lying was a big part of this story and it provided a glimpse into how a little lie can explode and ruin someones life. Don't get me wrong, I don't think lying about being a rape victim is a little lie. I think that is disgusting and that it makes it harder for real victims to get the help they need. But part of me hopes that the girls in this book weren't entirely malicious and the stories that eventually got out of control, maybe started out as little lies without the intent of ruining people lives. Maybe. Putting all of my feelings about the content of this book into words is hard and I don't want to stand on a soapbox but this book hit home for me because I see things like this almost every day.

Now, on to the characters. I don't think I really liked any characters in this book. The teenage girls were spiteful, vindictive, and immature. I know that is true to some girls who are that age but not all of them and I would have liked at least one redeeming character. On the other hand, maybe the author was making a point that all of us are flawed. In that case, good point but I still want an enjoyable character. I did enjoy learning about Jack's past and the different phases of his life that created who he became. But once again, it focused on how flawed he was and the mistakes he made that likely hurt a lot of people. As I'm writing this review, I keep thinking, maybe that's what Jodi Picoult wanted. For the reader to think, "ugh, this guy did horrible things but he's not a horrible person."  Like I said, if that's the case, more power to you for getting deep and symbolic on us but I just wasn't feeling it. I know people are flawed. I know people make mistakes and sometimes deserve a second chance. I don't need to read a book about rape and wiccans to know that.

Then the ending. Was that really necessary? My note for the end of the book was "WTF?!?! And I knew it!" Once again, my profession provides me with experience to be able to see things differently. It helps me understand Gilly and to an extent, and why she did what she did, but it doesn't make it ok. This ending makes everything not ok. The majority of the book I thought Gilly was a brat, and she was, but I could at least understand her by the end of the book so part of me appreciates the author's story. Still don't know if parts of it were necessary. And I would have liked a better developed relationship between Addie and Jack. I didn't like them together and I thought their attraction wasn't well developed.  This review took on a life of it's own so I'm going to end it now. And I've gone back and forth between a 3 and a 4 (may be surprising after this review but I did find myself wanting to read more) and I've finally settled on a 3. Anyone else read this book?