1 to 10 of 10
Review Date: 8/3/2020
I am fairly certain that to qualify for the genre âliterary fictionâ there is only one requirement: that your book must be as morose as possible. Look up Literary Fiction in the thesaurus and you will find the words Depressing, Melancholy, Miserable, Sulky, and Sullen. I cannot name a single book from the genre that does not fit this description. Maybe I'm wrong. But all the examples I can think of are just this.
The Barrowfields is all of these. It starts out interestingly enoughâalmost reminiscent of Cold Mountain in its descriptions of Appalachia. You can hear the mountain twang in the narrator's voice as he speaks about his father's family history. Only later do you realize you're no longer in the 1800s, but in modern times.
That shift really confused meâas did the change in the narrator's voice. At some point, he loses that twang and gains a snobby upper class air. To be fair, his father raises him in literature, but the vocabulary used is a bit obnoxious. Words like excrescence, deliquesce, and indomitable are commonplace in his story.
We lose characters a lot in this book too. People just drop off for no discernable reasonâhis mother, his school friends. People come into his life and then he moves on without them. Time passes, and he isn't interested in waiting on it.
I feel very melancholy about The Barrowfields. I didn't dislike it, nor did I particularly like it. It's literary fiction, so I suppose I am meant to feel SOMETHINGâ¦and I do. I'm just not entirely sure what that SOMETHING is.
The Barrowfields is all of these. It starts out interestingly enoughâalmost reminiscent of Cold Mountain in its descriptions of Appalachia. You can hear the mountain twang in the narrator's voice as he speaks about his father's family history. Only later do you realize you're no longer in the 1800s, but in modern times.
That shift really confused meâas did the change in the narrator's voice. At some point, he loses that twang and gains a snobby upper class air. To be fair, his father raises him in literature, but the vocabulary used is a bit obnoxious. Words like excrescence, deliquesce, and indomitable are commonplace in his story.
We lose characters a lot in this book too. People just drop off for no discernable reasonâhis mother, his school friends. People come into his life and then he moves on without them. Time passes, and he isn't interested in waiting on it.
I feel very melancholy about The Barrowfields. I didn't dislike it, nor did I particularly like it. It's literary fiction, so I suppose I am meant to feel SOMETHINGâ¦and I do. I'm just not entirely sure what that SOMETHING is.
A Christmas to Remember: I Will / Deck the Halls with Love / No Groom at the Inn / The Duke's Christmas Wish
Author:
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
20
Author:
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
20
Review Date: 8/3/2020
Even being the Grinch that I am, I can't let a December go by without reading one Christmas book, right? It's kind of obligatory! Thankfully, Avon sent me this collection of historical Christmas romance. It was the perfect cure for post-Thanksgiving exhaustion.
The theme of all of these stories was âNo matrimony for me!â Each included some kind of matchmaking scheme, mostly to fool their friends and familyâ¦but of course it fooled themselves right into love too.
None of these stories took me very long to readâin fact I finished this whole book in a single afternoon. It's a perfect weekender; the short novellas are great for reading while doing laundry and other chores because I could read one, do a load, read another, etc etc. Make a pot of tea, grab your favorite blanket, and hopefully watch some snow fall while you read about these four sets of lovers ring in the holidays under the mistletoe.
The theme of all of these stories was âNo matrimony for me!â Each included some kind of matchmaking scheme, mostly to fool their friends and familyâ¦but of course it fooled themselves right into love too.
None of these stories took me very long to readâin fact I finished this whole book in a single afternoon. It's a perfect weekender; the short novellas are great for reading while doing laundry and other chores because I could read one, do a load, read another, etc etc. Make a pot of tea, grab your favorite blanket, and hopefully watch some snow fall while you read about these four sets of lovers ring in the holidays under the mistletoe.
Review Date: 8/3/2020
I had a really hard time putting this book down! It was not at all what I expected--a book about a cook--but instead a booklover's paradise! It made me want to find an old bookstore and browse for hours. The characters were very well done. I loved some, and hated others.
Review Date: 8/3/2020
Is there anything better on a chilly fall day than snuggling up with a mug of tea, a blanket, and the hottest new romance novel on the market? I DON'T THINK SO. I don't know if the steam is coming from my beverage or my cheeks. Either way, it's roasty toasty in here!
Even the cover will have you feeling warm insideâcheck out those lickingâ¦erâ¦flames.
I love the Gilded Age because you still get the fancy dress and glamorous parties of old, but modernity is starting to take off. It creates this environment of curiosity and drive and dramaâa perfect jumping off point for two rebellious people who need each other for so much more than they think they do. Nora and Julius push and pull each other towards their ulterior motives, which bursts into that predictable cloud of steam.
It's hot, and fiery, and I couldn't put it down. But you should definitely pick it upâ¦you just might want to put on some gloves first.
Even the cover will have you feeling warm insideâcheck out those lickingâ¦erâ¦flames.
I love the Gilded Age because you still get the fancy dress and glamorous parties of old, but modernity is starting to take off. It creates this environment of curiosity and drive and dramaâa perfect jumping off point for two rebellious people who need each other for so much more than they think they do. Nora and Julius push and pull each other towards their ulterior motives, which bursts into that predictable cloud of steam.
It's hot, and fiery, and I couldn't put it down. But you should definitely pick it upâ¦you just might want to put on some gloves first.
The Daughters of Ireland (aka Daughters of Castle Deverill) (Deverill Chronicles, Bk 2)
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
2
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
2
Review Date: 8/3/2020
Helpful Score: 1
At first, I felt like I was missing so many pieces of the puzzle. I jumped right into the deep end of the pool without floaties on. Who is this person, and this person? There is some kind of curse and the castle is doomed? There was a fire and EVERYONE is connected to everyone in some twisted way.
WHAT the WHAT?
Then I realizedâ¦this is the SECOND book in a trilogy. *facepalm*
Sometimes second books can stand aloneâthis one, however, cannot. And there is no indication on the cover that this is part of a trilogy, so I have a feeling a lot of readers are going to end up confused like I was. Once I got into the book and kind of figured out what was going on, it was fine. The story started moving, and the pieces started making sense togetherâI still felt like I was playing catch up the whole time, though.
I think if I started with the first book, I would have liked this a lot more. It's the type of historical fiction I generally enjoyâthe family is large and complicated; the story mostly focuses in one time period, but we do see flashes of the past. I probably won't go back and start over myself, but I do recommend starting at the beginning if this is the type of book that interests you. Don't try to read it by itself, it's too complicated a story and it needs the enrichment from the beginning.
WHAT the WHAT?
Then I realizedâ¦this is the SECOND book in a trilogy. *facepalm*
Sometimes second books can stand aloneâthis one, however, cannot. And there is no indication on the cover that this is part of a trilogy, so I have a feeling a lot of readers are going to end up confused like I was. Once I got into the book and kind of figured out what was going on, it was fine. The story started moving, and the pieces started making sense togetherâI still felt like I was playing catch up the whole time, though.
I think if I started with the first book, I would have liked this a lot more. It's the type of historical fiction I generally enjoyâthe family is large and complicated; the story mostly focuses in one time period, but we do see flashes of the past. I probably won't go back and start over myself, but I do recommend starting at the beginning if this is the type of book that interests you. Don't try to read it by itself, it's too complicated a story and it needs the enrichment from the beginning.
Review Date: 8/3/2020
I didn't hate it, and the story IS unique enough to stand alone. If the rest of the books made their way into my hands, I would probably read them too, but I'm not going to actively seek them out or add them to my TBR. But, if they show up on my library's feature shelf or something, or hit the $1 shelf at Half-Price, sure.
Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
3
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
3
Review Date: 8/3/2020
Every book sounds good on late night talk shows. It's the host's job to provide enough witty banter to make the book sound exciting and accessible to everyone. There's a reason it's called "The Colbert Bump."
However, I quickly learned that Lights Out was not written for me. It's probably extremely well-researched, informative--even interesting. I just couldn't get into it. It just went over my head from the very beginning. You really need to have a solid foundation in military structures and acronyms to get more than 20 pages in. After that you start to lose the thread quickly. I had zero idea of what he was talking about.
I'll put this on my shelf, and I wouldn't be surprised to see my husband pick it up eventually. He's way more into military nonfiction than I am, and I know he was interested in Koppel's Colbert interview too. I'm disappointed that I couldn't get further into this, it sounded like an interesting (albeit terrifying) theory. (
However, I quickly learned that Lights Out was not written for me. It's probably extremely well-researched, informative--even interesting. I just couldn't get into it. It just went over my head from the very beginning. You really need to have a solid foundation in military structures and acronyms to get more than 20 pages in. After that you start to lose the thread quickly. I had zero idea of what he was talking about.
I'll put this on my shelf, and I wouldn't be surprised to see my husband pick it up eventually. He's way more into military nonfiction than I am, and I know he was interested in Koppel's Colbert interview too. I'm disappointed that I couldn't get further into this, it sounded like an interesting (albeit terrifying) theory. (
Review Date: 8/3/2020
While quite a lot of the book is the Bigger NPH that we all see publicly, there is quite a lot of the softer, more personal Neil that we don't get to see as often. There's notes from his friends, the story of how he met David and their family came to be. He talks about his parents and the long discovery of his sexuality. I wouldn't say it's a tell allâbut it's a very, um, interesting book detailing the life of one of the most lovable faces in celebrity today.
Review Date: 8/3/2020
Rice & Rocks looked so beautiful that I just couldn't resist a copy when it was sent my way. I was a little nervous, since I hadn't reviewed a children's book before, but why not start?
Guys, if you have kids, put this on your buy list right away! The art, by Megan Kayleigh Sullivan, is stunning. STUN-NING. Your littles are going to love pointing out everything on the pagesâthe puppies and the big gray bird. But it's the story that really will get you. It's going to spark a lot of conversations, positive ones, within your family. It's multi-cultural, tying several families together across the world, and then bringing it home to an American home for Sunday dinner.
We've all eaten rice and rocks at some pointâand how fun would it be to read this, and then make the dish for supper that night? Sounds like a pretty great activity to me! I might have to put ketchup on it for one of my nephews, but it might be fun to try.
Guys, if you have kids, put this on your buy list right away! The art, by Megan Kayleigh Sullivan, is stunning. STUN-NING. Your littles are going to love pointing out everything on the pagesâthe puppies and the big gray bird. But it's the story that really will get you. It's going to spark a lot of conversations, positive ones, within your family. It's multi-cultural, tying several families together across the world, and then bringing it home to an American home for Sunday dinner.
We've all eaten rice and rocks at some pointâand how fun would it be to read this, and then make the dish for supper that night? Sounds like a pretty great activity to me! I might have to put ketchup on it for one of my nephews, but it might be fun to try.
Review Date: 8/3/2020
I'm still trying to catch my brain up to all the chaos of a new house, so a beachy romance was just what I needed. Stargazey Point is a sweet summer story set just outside of Myrtle Beach and centers around a hurricane-busted town and its carousel.
This story moves as slow as a hot, sticky South Carolina afternoon, but as refreshing as that glass of sweet tea and wicker rocker. There's no rushing into this romance. Abbie has a heartbreaking backgroundâand it adds to the depth of the story.
It's the south, so there's definitely racismâbut it's repeatedly challenged. POC are more than just background dressing, as they usually are in this sort of book, but are active members of the narrative.
I always like it when a book like this surprises me. I tend to write them off as âempty calories,â guilty pleasures that don't carry much substance, but Stargazey Point actually gave me some feels. Make sure you put this on your pool bag list!
This story moves as slow as a hot, sticky South Carolina afternoon, but as refreshing as that glass of sweet tea and wicker rocker. There's no rushing into this romance. Abbie has a heartbreaking backgroundâand it adds to the depth of the story.
It's the south, so there's definitely racismâbut it's repeatedly challenged. POC are more than just background dressing, as they usually are in this sort of book, but are active members of the narrative.
I always like it when a book like this surprises me. I tend to write them off as âempty calories,â guilty pleasures that don't carry much substance, but Stargazey Point actually gave me some feels. Make sure you put this on your pool bag list!
1 to 10 of 10
