I don't think I'll say any more. Go get this book.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rotkoski
I'm just going to say it. This is a great book. Four stars out of five for me. Wasy read. Fast paced. Mystery, political intrigue, military strategy, forbidden romance... It was amazing. I've already placed the second and third books of this trilogy on hold at my local library.
I'll try not to give many details because this is seriously a must read. The writing is ver well done, the characters are interesting but there's not so many that it's hard to keep up with. I read this book in less than 24 hours. My husband forced me to put it down at 11:30 last night otherwise I would've read it all the way though. Still, the first thing I did at 7am was grab the book. I read it while cooking, while getting dressed, doing laundry, I even tried it while painting and let me just say there wasn't alot of painting getting done.
I don't think I'll say any more. Go get this book.
I don't think I'll say any more. Go get this book.
Monday, June 27, 2016
A Country Road, A Tree by Jo Baker
This book was supposed to be third on my list but the second one hasn't come in yet and I was anxious to keep going.
Overall, I would give this book a 2.5 put of 5 stars. It wasn't the worst book ever but it wasn't the best either.
The summary is pretty vague. Basically, Samuel (whose name isn't mentioned once in the entire 285 pages) is a writer. He's from Ireland and the book opens in his home country at his mother's home. He has a past experience of going to France for inspiration only to have been attacked (?) and stabbed, nursed back to health by a woman named Suzanne. His whole past before this point is mentioned but there are no details about why he got attacked or by whom or how long he'd been in France when this happened. Anyway- he recovered barely, went home to Ireland but his mother's judgemental attitude and constant criticism for his life choices make him yearn to get back to France. Ireland holds no inspiration for him. He dreams of Paris and Suzanne.
His cousins, Sheila and Mollie, (and Sheila's two daughters) are visiting. They turn on the radio to hear that a war has officially broken out. The start of World War II if you hadn't noticed the summary above.
Sheila, then Mollie leaves. Sheila goes home to see her husband before he ships out. Mollie returns to work. He takes himself to France.
In Paris, things start to get worse. This is where the book takes confusing turns. The author is very wordy. She doesn't specify who she's talking about when she writes "he" so always assume it's Samuel and you'll get through it much easier than I did. There's alot of vague references to the Jews being rounded up and taken to concentration camps.
A couple of points that were interesting to me, were that the Allied Forces used radio broadcast to relay secret messages during the war. So even though the Germans could've been listening, they used such abstract messages intended only to make sense to the person it's meant for, that the Germans couldn't figure it out.
It didn't occur to me either that people other than the Jews were persecuted, tortured and executed. Half of the book finds Samuel and Suzanne on the run because he has taken part in relaying messages to the Allied Forces. So he's committed treason and there are alot of instances where they are running constantly in a country where a vast majority of people are trying to escape German tyranny. You find Samuel hidden under the floorboards of a safe house during the day and only allowed a free moment at night. You find he and Suzannne trekking across the French countryside multiple times on their way to safer destinations because the trains would be stopped and searched or simply so packed with evacuees that it was impossible to obtain seats. They were hungry because of the rations put on the country, starving, sickly and barely putting one foot in front of the other in order to live another day.
Their safe houses are with friends but even those friends start to "disappear", taken by the Gestapo for questioning... Never to return. So as they move from place to place, their time with friends will start out pleasant and then shrink to a bubble on the verge of popping. The book spans the length of the war.
There are some things to look out for... A companion of Samuel's in a time that he and Suzanne are separated for safety's sake, is almost captured by the Gestapo and instead of allowing himself to be captured, tortured and executed, throws himself out a window. There's also a very brief paragraph where Samuel encounters and engages a prostitute. The language bounces around. You can have three chapters void of swearing and then be blasted in the forth.
So overall... It is not something I would read again. I struggled to get into it because it was so wordy and long and really vague. But I learned some things about France in WWII and about the people who lived there, which I appreciated.
The summary is pretty vague. Basically, Samuel (whose name isn't mentioned once in the entire 285 pages) is a writer. He's from Ireland and the book opens in his home country at his mother's home. He has a past experience of going to France for inspiration only to have been attacked (?) and stabbed, nursed back to health by a woman named Suzanne. His whole past before this point is mentioned but there are no details about why he got attacked or by whom or how long he'd been in France when this happened. Anyway- he recovered barely, went home to Ireland but his mother's judgemental attitude and constant criticism for his life choices make him yearn to get back to France. Ireland holds no inspiration for him. He dreams of Paris and Suzanne.
His cousins, Sheila and Mollie, (and Sheila's two daughters) are visiting. They turn on the radio to hear that a war has officially broken out. The start of World War II if you hadn't noticed the summary above.
Sheila, then Mollie leaves. Sheila goes home to see her husband before he ships out. Mollie returns to work. He takes himself to France.
In Paris, things start to get worse. This is where the book takes confusing turns. The author is very wordy. She doesn't specify who she's talking about when she writes "he" so always assume it's Samuel and you'll get through it much easier than I did. There's alot of vague references to the Jews being rounded up and taken to concentration camps.
A couple of points that were interesting to me, were that the Allied Forces used radio broadcast to relay secret messages during the war. So even though the Germans could've been listening, they used such abstract messages intended only to make sense to the person it's meant for, that the Germans couldn't figure it out.
It didn't occur to me either that people other than the Jews were persecuted, tortured and executed. Half of the book finds Samuel and Suzanne on the run because he has taken part in relaying messages to the Allied Forces. So he's committed treason and there are alot of instances where they are running constantly in a country where a vast majority of people are trying to escape German tyranny. You find Samuel hidden under the floorboards of a safe house during the day and only allowed a free moment at night. You find he and Suzannne trekking across the French countryside multiple times on their way to safer destinations because the trains would be stopped and searched or simply so packed with evacuees that it was impossible to obtain seats. They were hungry because of the rations put on the country, starving, sickly and barely putting one foot in front of the other in order to live another day.
Their safe houses are with friends but even those friends start to "disappear", taken by the Gestapo for questioning... Never to return. So as they move from place to place, their time with friends will start out pleasant and then shrink to a bubble on the verge of popping. The book spans the length of the war.
There are some things to look out for... A companion of Samuel's in a time that he and Suzanne are separated for safety's sake, is almost captured by the Gestapo and instead of allowing himself to be captured, tortured and executed, throws himself out a window. There's also a very brief paragraph where Samuel encounters and engages a prostitute. The language bounces around. You can have three chapters void of swearing and then be blasted in the forth.
So overall... It is not something I would read again. I struggled to get into it because it was so wordy and long and really vague. But I learned some things about France in WWII and about the people who lived there, which I appreciated.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
It Wasn't Always Like This by Joy Preble
It Wasn't Always Like This by Joy Preble was the first book on my list. I picked it up from the library two days ago and have already buzzed through it. It's 245 pages long and considered "Epic and addictive." by #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia.
And indeed it is in fact epic and addictive. It starts out slow and jumps around alot from one time period to the other because, well, let's admit it... The Fountain of Youth is involved here.
The summary is this:
In 1916, Emma O'Neill is frozen in time. After sampling an experimental polio vaccine brewed on a remote island off St. Augustine, Florida, she and her family stio aging- as do the Ryans, her family's business partners. In a way this suits Emma fine because she is in love with Charlie Ryan. Being seventeen forever with him is a dream. But soon a group of religious fanatics, the Church of Light, takes note. Drinking the elixir has made the O'Neills and Ryans impervious to aging but not to murder - Emma and Charlie are the only ones who escape with their lives.
On the run, Emma is tragically separated from Charlie. For the next hundred years, she plays a cat-and-mouse game with the founding members of the Church of Light and their descendents. Over the years, a series of murders- whose victims all bear more than a passing resemblence to her- indicate that her enemies are closing in. Yet as the danger grows, so does Emma's hope for finding the boy she's certain is still out there...
This story is a mixture of light suspense, mystery, romance and fantasy. It's really interesting and though, like I said, it's difficult to read at times because you're bouncing back and forth through a couple different time zones, if you keep track of the time periods then it gets easier. Overall, a really good book.
There is some language here and there throughout as well as sex before marriage, so just a heads up. But there are no sex scenes so compared to what I've read before, it's clean. Whew.
I really liked the mystery and learning how Emma has figured out how to live under the radar. And while she may be the main character of the story, about halfway through there are a couple chapters dedicated to Charlie and a couple other characters that allow you a glimpse of what they have been doing this whole time. The book spans about a hundred years from the time Emma and Charlie and their families drink a tea that's supposed to protect them from small pox and realize that it actually gave them immortality.
There's one character I wasn't really sure I agreed with how the author presented him. He was dismissed very quickly in the end and it felt rushed. But overall, it was really well written.
It's a really good book and I am definitely planning to reread.
And indeed it is in fact epic and addictive. It starts out slow and jumps around alot from one time period to the other because, well, let's admit it... The Fountain of Youth is involved here.
The summary is this:
In 1916, Emma O'Neill is frozen in time. After sampling an experimental polio vaccine brewed on a remote island off St. Augustine, Florida, she and her family stio aging- as do the Ryans, her family's business partners. In a way this suits Emma fine because she is in love with Charlie Ryan. Being seventeen forever with him is a dream. But soon a group of religious fanatics, the Church of Light, takes note. Drinking the elixir has made the O'Neills and Ryans impervious to aging but not to murder - Emma and Charlie are the only ones who escape with their lives.
On the run, Emma is tragically separated from Charlie. For the next hundred years, she plays a cat-and-mouse game with the founding members of the Church of Light and their descendents. Over the years, a series of murders- whose victims all bear more than a passing resemblence to her- indicate that her enemies are closing in. Yet as the danger grows, so does Emma's hope for finding the boy she's certain is still out there...
This story is a mixture of light suspense, mystery, romance and fantasy. It's really interesting and though, like I said, it's difficult to read at times because you're bouncing back and forth through a couple different time zones, if you keep track of the time periods then it gets easier. Overall, a really good book.
There is some language here and there throughout as well as sex before marriage, so just a heads up. But there are no sex scenes so compared to what I've read before, it's clean. Whew.
I really liked the mystery and learning how Emma has figured out how to live under the radar. And while she may be the main character of the story, about halfway through there are a couple chapters dedicated to Charlie and a couple other characters that allow you a glimpse of what they have been doing this whole time. The book spans about a hundred years from the time Emma and Charlie and their families drink a tea that's supposed to protect them from small pox and realize that it actually gave them immortality.
There's one character I wasn't really sure I agreed with how the author presented him. He was dismissed very quickly in the end and it felt rushed. But overall, it was really well written.
It's a really good book and I am definitely planning to reread.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Book List
"It Wasn't Always Like This" by Joy Preble
"Left in the Wind: The Roanoke Journal of Emme Merrimoth" by Ed Gray
"A Country Road, A Tree" by Jo Baker
"Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn
"The Winner's Curse" by Marie Rutkoski
"See Me" by Nicholas Sparks
"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy
"Eragon" by Christopher Paolini
"The Siren" by Kiera Cass
"The Erye Affair" by Jasper Fforde
Disclaimer: I've only ever read a couple of these. The others are new to me and thus, I'm unaware of any inappropriate content or sensitive subject manner. As with all books, read at your own risk.
I plan to start reading beginning with the first book on this list as soon as it comes in at the library. There's no deadline or anything so I'll update when I'm finished. Happy reading!
"Left in the Wind: The Roanoke Journal of Emme Merrimoth" by Ed Gray
"A Country Road, A Tree" by Jo Baker
"Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn
"The Winner's Curse" by Marie Rutkoski
"See Me" by Nicholas Sparks
"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy
"Eragon" by Christopher Paolini
"The Siren" by Kiera Cass
"The Erye Affair" by Jasper Fforde
Disclaimer: I've only ever read a couple of these. The others are new to me and thus, I'm unaware of any inappropriate content or sensitive subject manner. As with all books, read at your own risk.
I plan to start reading beginning with the first book on this list as soon as it comes in at the library. There's no deadline or anything so I'll update when I'm finished. Happy reading!
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