December 2019 Wrap Up

Well it seems December escaped me. And a good portion of January as well. So I’m going to do a December wrap up post and then catch up on January...and as alway I’ll try to vibe better in the future...but you know, no promises.

The Testaments By Margaret Atwood (Read 11/30/19 - 12/2/19)
I loved it! I could not put it down. I know some reviewers didn’t like the change in style, but I did. I liked the holes it filled and I felt like it wrapped things up some.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Read 12/2/19 - 12/4/19)
I can't believe I hadn't read this before! I have decided also that I may not be an Austin or a Bronte Fan, but I am a Dickens fan. I really enjoyed it.

The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan (Read 12/4/19 - 12/8/19)
So this is the OUABC Christmas box from last year, and I found it at the grocery store and picked it up. Felt like the right season. I loved it. I loved the characters, especially Stewart, he reminded me a lot of my Fiancé. And I love the drama and story line, it was dramatic and deep and yet fluffy too.

The Lost Book of Adan Moreau by Michale Zapata (Read 11/17/19 - 12/11/19)
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published February 4, 2020.
This was an Ok book for me, I was interested enough to finish. It reminded me a lot of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Which was a 3 star book to me. Which I know it mentions in the description, but it was very comparable I found.
I found the story moved a little slow at the beginning, picked up when we met Saul, but then began to drag again. It was only 272 pages but it felt at times like it was closer to 600.
There were some rambling parts, like the Dominicana’s Welsh doctor tells her a story from his childhood and going to work in the coal mines. I wasn’t sure what the point of including was. Also the lack of chapters bothered me.

 

A Royal Christmas Wish by Lizzie Shane (Read 12/11/19 - 12/15/19)
This was the OUABC Christmas Mini Box. I enjoyed this book, it was fun and magical, and perfect for the season. I felt like I was reading a hallmark movie, and I really hope they put it out as one!

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell (Read 12/21/19 - 12/22/19)
This was the OUABC November selection. I sped through it obviously. The story kept me guessing and there were so many little twists! And creepy, so creepy! But sooo good too!

Holly Banks Full of Angst by Julie Valarie (Read 12/26/19 - 12/28/19)
This was the OUABC December selection. It was ok, it was sarcastic and funny, but I didn't really like the characters and I didn't really like the story line. But the quips kept me invested.

The Best is Yet to Come” Lauren Bretanha (Read 11/22/19 to 11/27/19)

The book mostly jumps back and for the between present day Claire, and Claire 5 years ago when she she first met Bass. Sometimes we get chapters from Bass’s point of view, both present and 5 years earlier.
I really like the characters, my heart aches for their situation. Bass is so understanding I want to shake Claire, but I get the emotional walls she has built. It makes my heart hurt so deeply for them and for the baby. Claire is defiantly a classic example of self-fulfilling prophecy, she is so intent of not getting hurt or causing hurt that she wreaks it in so many unintended ways.
In understand that Claire’s self hatred and lack of confidence in her mothering skills is the heart of her character, and needed for her character growth, but at times it was all a little much. Jeez, they bring the baby home and she cries, so automatically the baby hates Claire. It is just a little over the top at times in my mind.
A really confusing part of the book, is that sometimes both parents are referred to as being dead, but sometimes it seems like it is only the Father that died. Then on page 204 it seems that her mother may have committed suicide. It was all cleared up by the end, but I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was going on.
Parts of this book really hit me in the feels. I could see myself in Claire, and I could understand some of her decisions, I and also understand how a baby changes a marriage, and not all survive it.
I felt like this was very much a self fulfilling prophecy book. All of Clair’s worst nightmares come true, because of what choices and actions she takes to protect herself. I got really frustrated with how Claire refused to talk to Bass, I feel 100% that they issues with communication stemmed from her and I really wasn’t that sympathetic. I did feel bad for Bass though.
This was a harder book than I expected. It hit a lot of feels. My 1st marriage feel apart for many reasons, a few of them reflected her with trust and intimacy issues. I could really see both sides. There were some slow parts, but overall the book moved at a good pace. There were very few present choices that I could find, that took some reaching sometimes.

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy (Read 11/12/19 to 11/17/19)

This is my second Quarterly Book Exchange book.  It is set in Poland in the last year of World War II.  Two jewish children are sent into the Bialowieza Forest by their Father and Stepmother.  They are told to hide their identities and take the names Hansel and Gretel.  They find an old woman, Magda, in a hut on the outskirts of the village Piaski, the village calls her a witch.  This takes what you think you know about Hansel and Gretel, and weaves a magical and tragic tale about what could have been the real story behind the fairy tale.

I really enjoyed this book, it took the horrors of Nazi occupation of Poland and combined them with the fantasy of a Fairy Tale, to create surreal world, that was probably exactly how it felt to survivors.  I'm not going to lie, this had some very graphic movements, but I think that was Murphy's attempt to stay true to the graphic nature of that time period, it was an ugly brutal period in human history.  I love the writing style and the way she kept elements of the fairy tale in the story of these fugitive children.  It was beautifully written and heartbreaking at time.

The Other Son by Nick Alexander (Read 11/4/19 to 11/9/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It was originally published I UK in 2015, 12/17/19 is US release
This is a story about a dysfunctional family. It takes place in London area.
The characters are Alice her husband of 50 years Ken, they are in their late 60’s almost 70’s. Their son Tim and his wife Natalya, and their other son Matt.
This book did a bit of timeline jumping, it was broken up into parts, Part 1 was about Alice and her marriage to Ken and her view on her relationship with her children. Part 2 was from Natalya and Tim’s view on their life and their relationship with Alice and Ken. Part 3 is a bridging section between what happens to Alice after Part 2 that leads to Part 4. The first part of Part 4 is from Tim’s point of view of his life, and the final part is from Alice’s view of Tim’s life and making some revelations about her own.
There is some touchy topic, abuse, drinking, prostitution, human trafficking.
I really enjoyed this book, I know that it has lots of triggers and may not be appropriate for everyone. I found the characters to be very realistic, even if they were not all likable. As a domestic abuse survivor myself I was really able to relate to Alice, Tim and Matt and understand their motivations for the choices they made. But I realize it is a heavy topic. It was a really well written book and compelling characters to me.

#TheOtherSon #NetGalley

The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer (Read 11/1/19 to 11/3/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published April 7, 2020.

I did not finish this book, I only made it to 36%. I found the world really interesting, it was set in the early 1900’s and focuses on stage magicians in the Vaudeville circuit. But the world had 3 classes of people, the Solitaire which seem to have no magic. The Traders who can change form into animals, and the Sylvetri who have some sort of affinity with nature. There was the start of some great world building and some interesting dynamics. There are some stolen ticks that seemed to be leading to a bigger conspiracy, and I know there is a murder in the future, but I didn’t get far enough in the book to find out what happened.

The reason I didn’t finish the book is the author describes people by color, they are white Solitaire or black Solitaire, a white Trader or a black Trader. At first, I hoped that it was describing if they were good or bad, but as the book went on I was disappointed to find it really was describing their skin color and I found it offensive and therefore did not finish the book. I feel like there was no need for the descriptions based on skin color and it just made the book very un-enjoyable for me.

The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore (Read 10/29/19 to 11/1/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published January 14, 2020

This book is set in 1855, Lucy Blunt is on death row at New Hampshire State Prison for killing two women, her employer and another woman in the house, Rebecca. This book jumps timelines a lot, it bounces between Lucy on death row, Lucy being hired by the Burton’s and being employed as their maid, and Lucy’s life before the Burtons.

The book starts out with Lucy being hired because the previous maid Mary Dawson had drowned. Lucy has lied and faked her references to get the job. We also find out that Lucy’s son died at 3 days old. The house is kept locked up tight, and keys are a frequently referenced item throughout the book, because Mrs. Burton wanders. We then find out that Lucy is telling her story to a newspaper man, possibly to try and get out of being hanged. One day Rebecca is locked out of the house and almost dies, it is never made clear how it happened, if Rebecca did it herself or if Mrs. Burton locked her out. While Rebecca is recovering Lucy is recruited to help Mrs. Burton. As the book unfolds we find out many secrets. Lucy and Mrs. Burton become close, and eventually form a romantic relationship, Rebecca is very jealous. It is never clearly stated that Rebecca and Mrs. Burton used to be lovers, but it is implied. Mrs. Burton gives Lucy many gifts such as lace, and dresses and jewelry, these are also used as evidence against her in the trial. But how does all this secrecy lead to two deaths and a woman awaiting her own hanging? Did she do it? Will her appeals be granted?

This was a good read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The time line was a little jumpy, but I think that was on purpose. Lucy wasn’t thinking in a straight line, how could she tell her story in a straight line? The book got a little slow in the middle, but it really picked up in the end. It reminded me style wise, and even storyline wise of Sarah Water’s Fingersmith. The book kept me guessing right up to the end as to if Lucy really committed the murders or if she was framed.







#TheCompanion #NetGalley

In Cold Chamomile by Joy Avon (read 10/27/19 to 10/28/19)

I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. It will be published February 11, 2020.  This is the third book in the A Tea and Read Mystery Series, I have not read the first 2.  This is set around Valentines day and Callie Aspen and her Great Aunt Iphy Aspen have organized an event to raise money for Haywood Hall.  However, instead of love there is a murder.  As I have not read the previous 2 books, I was not attached to the characters, in fact I hated most of them.  I felt as people they were shallow, and selfish, and dumb, they made a lot of poor choices based on dumb reasons.  Callie spent all her time moaning about her maybe boyfriend Ace, and seems like a weak pathetic woman.  I expected as one of the lead sleuths that she would have a backbone and it was very much, "oh no! I didn't do what my boyfriend told me to do, oh is he breaking up with me?"   Iphy should also have been a spunky 70 year old sleuth who at her age didn't care about what people thought, instead her character came across as a lovestruck 16 year old who didn't know how to use logic at all.  Ace was a controlling jerk, who just wanted his girlfriend to "do as he said" and not disrespect him.  Peggy was a whinny pathetic woman, who caused a lot of dram for no reason at all, besides to get Callie further "in trouble" with Ace.  I knew it was a cozy mystery and I was hoping for something light and fun, but the characters were a little too light for me.  Joy Avon's writing was good, the story moved at a nice place, there was just the right amount of death for a cozy mystery.  But I didn't like a single character in this book. I hope that for fans of the series this was just a one-off, and that I am missing a great series because I won't pick up the others.