Friday, August 30, 2013

Follow Friday

Increase Blog Followers


If you could only have ONE – one book – for the rest of your life. Don’t cheat…what would it be?


It would have to either be the Complete Sherlock Holmes Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, or Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. I can't choose between them, though.





Wednesday, August 28, 2013

WWW Wednesdays


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Anarchy: A Novel (Advent Trilogy #2)




Currently, I'm reading Anarchy by James Treadwell.















The Glass Ocean

I just finished reading The Glass Ocean by Lori Baker. You can read my review here.



The Tilted World: A Novel
Next, I'll probably read The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly.








Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Anarchy: A Novel (Advent Trilogy #2)
From Anarchy by James Treadwell

“Time, though infinite, is paradoxically also short, and, to be blunt, getting shorter.”  















Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Glass Ocean by Lori Baker

The Glass Ocean"I write in retrospect, from the vantage of a distant shore." Flame-haired, six-foot-two in stocking feet, eighteen-year-old Carlotta Dell’oro recounts the lives of her parents—solitary glassmaker Leopoldo Dell’oro and beautiful, unreachable Clotilde Girard—and discovers in their loves and losses, their omissions and obsessions, thecircumstances of her abandonment and the weight of her inheritance. Thomas Pynchon calls debut novelist Lori Baker �a storyteller with uncanny access to the Victorians, not only to the closely woven texture of their days but also to the dangerous nocturnal fires being attended to in their hearts.”

Carlotta’s story begins in 1841, when Leo and Clotilde meet aboard the Narcissus, on an expedition led by Clotilde’s magnanimous, adventuring father. Leo is commissioned to draw the creatures of the deep sea, but is bewitched instead by golden Clotilde, beginning a devotion that will prove inescapable. Clotilde meanwhile sees only her dear papa, but when he goes missing she is pushed to Leo, returning with him to the craggy English shores of Whitby, the place to which Leo vowed he would never return.

There they form an uneasy coexistence, lost to one another. The events of the Narcissus haunt them, leaving Clotilde grieving for her father, while Leo becomes possessed by the work of transforming his sea sketches into glass. But in finding his art he surrenders Clotilde, and the distance between the two is only magnified by the birth of baby Carlotta.

Years have passed, and Carlotta is now grown. A friend from the past comes to Whitby, and with his arrival sets into motion the Dell’oros’ inevitable disintegration. In hypnotic, inimitable prose Lori Baker’s The Glass Ocean transforms a story of family into something as otherworldly and mesmerizing as life beneath the sea itself.




This has to be one of the most beautifully written books I’ve read so far this year. The prose’s lushness left me stunned many times, and the story itself is delicately written.

I loved the way the story was told, with the narrator weaving the plot along, almost making it happen as she imagines it. There were so many fabulous details of the Victorian period, including details to do with ships and seafaring, that the reader really felt immersed in the age. The story is like an old, kind of worn piece of lace that is lightly yellowing, intricate and pungent.

The characters, especially Clotilde, are fascinating. The author manages to bring them to life in such a way that they are never overwhelmed by the atmosphere or the details. This is not easy to achieve in such an elaborate novel as this one is. Characters usually fall by the wayside when details are so strong and the Gothic atmosphere is so rich, so I was so glad to find that it was not the case in this one.

If you love literary fiction, historical fiction, or both, and enjoy gorgeous writing, then I highly recommend this one.







Friday, August 23, 2013

Follow Friday

This week's Question:
Increase Blog Followers
       Book Selfie! Take a pic with your current read.
 
Well, I don't have my camera with me now, so I can't take a picture with my book. But how about a picture of me writing my upcoming book, (to be released in 2014). I know, it's cheating a little, but I didn't want to have to skip today's Follow Friday.
 
 
 


By the way, I'll let you all know when my debut novel will be published. It's a Victorian Gothic paranormal, so I hope some of you will buy it when it comes out!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Loyd

The Affairs of Others
Five years after her young husband’s death, Celia Cassill has moved from one Brooklyn neighborhood to another, but she has not moved on. The owner of a small apartment building, she has chosen her tenants for their ability to respect one another’s privacy. Celia believes in boundaries, solitude, that she has a right to her ghosts. She is determined to live a life at a remove from the chaos and competition of modern life. Everything changes with the arrival of a new tenant, Hope, a dazzling woman of a certain age on the run from her husband’s recent betrayal. When Hope begins a torrid and noisy affair, and another tenant mysteriously disappears, the carefully constructed walls of Celia’s world are tested and the sanctity of her building is shattered—through violence and sex, in turns tender and dark. Ultimately, Celia and her tenants are forced to abandon their separate spaces for a far more intimate one, leading to a surprising conclusion and the promise of genuine joy.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. And in some ways, I suppose, I did, but not enough to make me feel like this is a completely worthwhile read. Don’t you hate it when that happens?

As literary fiction, I didn’t expect car chases and the like, so it is not that which made this a bit of a dull read. The problem, I feel, is that while we get a lot about the protagonist’s inner workings, we still don’t really come to relate to her in any substantial way. Yes, the writing is lovely, with some breathtaking phrases, but it is not enough to keep me reading. My mind wandered away from the pages many times, and it shouldn’t have, not with the kind of emotional depth the author is trying to reach.

There is no real plot, which, as I said, is fine, but there also isn’t a real structure to the novel, which made it feel insubstantial. Actually, the entire thing put me more in mind of a short story collection with an overarching theme than an entire novel.

I don’t want to tell anyone not to read it, since there are some memorable passages, but I do want to lower expectations on the overall book. This one was not one I’d probably read again.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
The Affairs of Others
From The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Lloyd

"I felt the radiator in my bedroom, and when its heat did not feel emphatic enough, I pulled my sweater and jeans on, stuck my feet into slippers, and went to check the boiler."

-ARC















Monday, August 19, 2013

Musing Mondays

MusingMondays5Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!


The Goldfinch
I am really looking forward to reading Donna Tartt's new book, The Goldfinch. She hasn't written a book in I don't know how many years, so I am very interested to know what this one is going to be like. It comes out in October, so I still have a long wait, unless I manage to get an ARC copy. Here's hoping!














Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield

Bellman and BlackAs a boy, William Bellman commits one small, cruel act: killing a bird with his slingshot. Little does he know the unforeseen and terrible consequences of the deed, which is soon forgotten amidst the riot of boyhood games. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to be a man blessed by fortune—until tragedy strikes and the stranger in black comes. Then he starts to wonder if all his happiness is about to be eclipsed. Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, William enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business.

And Bellman & Black is born.




I truly enjoyed this book. It’s got a bit of everything I love in it: gothic horror, Victorian historical details, and most of all, crows. It really would have had to have been a ridiculously awful book to not earn a good rating with me on those facts alone.

And it’s nowhere near awful. The writing is lovely, with nuanced phrases that leap off the page. The amount of obvious research the author did to write this book is clear from the incredible details about every aspect of Victorian life. She manages to submerge us into that time period while avoiding the very real danger of overwhelming us with too much information. It was perfectly balanced. I also loved the bits of crow lore sprinkled through the novel.

The only thing I felt could have been better was the ending. It felt too abrupt and it left too many open questions. Since the story doesn’t lend itself to a sequel, I wish the author had given us a bit more closure.

But this is one I highly recommend. There are some truly frightening moments and a taste of fantasy that is sure to capture most readers’ attention.

 
 

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
An Apple a Day: A Memoir of Love and Recovery from Anorexia
From An Apple a Day by Emma Woolf

"I haven't tasted chocolate for over ten years and now I'm walking down the street unwrapping a Kit Kat. I don't know which is stranger-this sudden fall of snow, blanketing London in stillness, or eating a bar of chocolate in public."

pg. 13









Monday, August 12, 2013

Musing Mondays

MusingMondays5Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

The Glass Ocean
I just started reading The Glass Ocean by Lori Baker. I'm only a few pages in, but the writing is so beautiful. I mean truly gorgeous. The story has a magical realism feeling to it that I can already tell I'm going to enjoy.










Sunday, August 11, 2013

Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie

Close My EyesWhen Geniver Loxley lost her daughter at birth eight years ago, her world stopped… and never fully started again. Mothers with strollers still make her flinch; her love of writing has turned into a half-hearted teaching career; and she and her husband, Art, have slipped into the kind of rut that seems inescapable.

But then a stranger shows up on their doorstep, telling Gen the very thing she’s always wanted to hear: that her daughter Beth was not stillborn, but was taken away as a healthy infant and is still out there, somewhere, waiting to be found. It’s insane, unbelievable. But why would anyone make that up? A fissure suddenly opens up in Gen’s carefully reconstructed life, letting in a flood of unanswerable questions. Where is Beth now? Why is Art so reluctant to get involved? To save his wife from further hurt? Or is it something more sinister? And who can she trust to help her?

Ignoring the warnings of her husband and friends, Gen begins to delve into the dark corners of her past, hopeful she’ll find a clue to her daughter’s whereabouts. But hope quickly turns into fear and paranoia, as she realizes that finding the answers might open the door to something even worse than not knowing. A truth that could steal everything she holds close – even her own life.



I had high hopes for this thriller. So many reviewers found it entertaining and had such good things to say about it that I was hoping to really be immersed in the story. Which is why I was a bit disappointed when I finally finished it and could only summon a shrug as a rating.

The problem, I think, is that we don’t really get much character development. I know thrillers are not necessarily read for great characterization but for the plot, but we did need a bit more in this one. The protagonist, Geniver, has barely any personality. She jumps from idea to idea without settling on anything, and her wishy-washy attitude on every aspect of her life gets pretty tiring after a while. Her husband, Art, is a little pip-squeak of a character, as is Lorcan, the man who starts helping Geniver in finding the truth. Actually, none of the characters stand out as anything more than puppets the author uses to push the story forward.

The plot starts off with lots of intrigue, making the reader wonder how the author is going to settle all of it, but it soon loses steam. Geniver starts repeating the same questions over and over, and so many of the dialogues run on for way too long. Then there are some of the side characters and their sub-plots. One of them is Charlotte, one of Geniver’s students, who mysteriously appears and disappears throughout the novel and yet she is absolutely pointless. The novel could have easily been written without her, which means it should have been. And like her, a lot of things should have been edited out as well.

All in all, not one I’d recommend. If you want to read a good thriller, try Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Leave this one on the shelf.
 
 
 
 

Friday, August 9, 2013

Follow Friday

My New iPad Cover


I don't usually write product reviews, but since this one has direct impact on my reading, I thought I'd give it a try.
This iPad cover, in a lovely electric blue, arrived this morning, and I've been using it all day. It is a sleek comfortable model that makes reading, or doing anything on the iPad, much more comfortable. This model has a fabulous little handle that allows you to cradle the whole thing in one hand without fear of dropping the tablet on the floor. For me, with all the pets I'm always taking care of, this is a godsend.

The other nifty feature is the built in stand, which comes very much in handy when I'm baking and need to have the recipe in front of me.
I chose the blue version, but the cover comes in many different and vibrant colors to accommodate all tastes. They would all make great, sleek, choices.

I highly recommend these iPad covers to all of you who use your tablets as much as I do. It will keep it safe and make it look great at the same time!

The website for the company that makes them, Snugg, is here, and the link for these specific covers is here.






I was offered this product for free in exchange for an honest review.









Wednesday, August 7, 2013

WWW Wednesdays


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?


Close My Eyes



Currently, I'm reading Close my Eyes by Sophie McKensie


















Bellman and Black

And Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
















The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

I just finished reading The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. You can read my review here.















The Glass Ocean

Next, I'll probably read The Glass Ocean by Lori Baker










Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Close My Eyes
From Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie

"Of course the truth is that I'm not really sorry and he isn't really fine. The truth is that I don't want to be here and Art knows it."
pg. 3

















Friday, August 2, 2013

Follow Friday


This weeks Question:

 How do you handle a book you don’t like? Do you DNF or do you power through?



Usually, I try to finish it. If it's a book I've agreed to review, I feel like I owe it to the author to give him or her a fair review, even if I find it hard to finish the book. There have been a few cases of having to put the books aside, though, because it was becoming torture to even look at them, but those are the exceptions. I do my best to stick it through.

















Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in ColdtownTana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

This book started out so promising, with so much potential, that it is such a shame to have to say the second half bored me to tears.

It’s starts off with a bang, with lots of action, quick pacing, and, though it does not have the most unique characters or situations, the story does hold the reader’s attention. Somewhere in the middle, however, the plot unravels. The characters start to behave both predictably and completely out of character, which I didn’t think was possible. Too many other names are thrown into the mix as soon as our protagonists get to Coldtown, and, since none of those characters are actually developed enough, they start blurring together, leaving the reader trying to figure out who exactly is who. Gavriel and Tana, our protagonists, are of course somehow attracted to each other without too much reason, and out “villain” is laughable at best.

There isn’t much more to say because, honestly, I was bored enough that my mind wandered through a bit of the last chapters. I really was hoping I’d have better news about this one, but I have to say this one is not on my recommendation list.