Tag: fiction

Over Her Dead Body, by Kate White

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Cover ImageFinished 10-21-08, rating 3/5, mystery, pub. 2005

True crime author Bailey Weggins is back in her fourth mystery in the Big Apple.  Bailey switches from one magazine job to another and is fast embroiled in a murder mystery.  Her nasty boss is murdered and there is no shortage of suspects and lies.  Bailey must work her way through the maze of red herrings and attempts on her life to find the truth and get the scoop for her story.

Bailey is a tough thirty-something divorcee living in Manhattan with a fun and feisty personality.  She’s like a big city Nancy Drew.

I’ve listened to two of this series on cd and really liked them, but this one was missing something for me.  It was still good, but Bailey felt a little tired.  I had no idea who did it until the very end, which was good, but the end didn’t really wow me after the multitude of possibilities. 

I would still love to hang out with Bailey and will read her other books.  Author, Kate White, is the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine.

How I Found the Perfect Dress, by Maryrose Wood

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Book CoverFinished 10-13-08, rating 3.5/5, young adult, pub. 2008

This is the sequel to Why I Let My Hair Grow Out.

I won this book last month over at Writerspace after being entered into a drawing with 200 books to be given away.  I had no idea that Writerspace authors included young adult writers, so, when I received the book I was intrigued by the funky cover, but not sure about reading it.  But, Maryrose wrote a nice note to me the front page and I felt enough guilt to give it a shot.

Morgan is also half-goddess Morganne and is still in love with Colin, the 20 year old boy she met last summer in Ireland.  Morgan is just a normal 16 year old girl with fighting parents, a kid sister, and a relationship to repair with her best friend, while also being Morganne who pals around with faeries and has seen the Tooth Fairy.  It’s been six months since she’s seen Colin and his emails have become almost nonexistent.  Morgan is ecstatic when she learns that Colin will be coming to Connecticut for a few weeks in March, but will soon learn that being loved by a half-goddess is doing harm to Colin.

I have not read a young adult romance since I was a teen and I was surprisingly enchanted with this whimsical tale of magic and love.  I would recommend this book and the rest of the series about Morgan for teen girls.  I’m tempted to read the rest of them myself!

I Married A Communist, by Philip Roth

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Finished 10-8-08, rating 2.5, fiction, pub. 1999

Nathan Zuckerman, the narrator from American Pastoral, is back and this time he is tackling the McCarthy era.  Nathan reconnects with his high school English teacher, Murray Ringold, after many years and the two reminisce  about that turbulent time in their lives.  Murray’s brother, Ira, was a famous radio actor back in the day and took Nathan under his wing.    Now that Ira is dead Nathan gets to find out everything he had not known about his mentor when he was younger.

Ira was a Jewish communist and marries a beautiful actress in hopes of living the American dream.  He had money, a beautiful wife, an expensive home, fans who loved him, and hopes for a child one day.  Instead he was thrust into an unsatisfying marriage that came with a troubled and spiteful step daughter.  When the marriage went south, his wife fingered him as a communist.

I really didn’t like this book much.  It lacked a story I cared about it.  I wasn’t drawn to the characters.  It made some fine points about that period in American history, but I found myself skimming paragraphs at a time.  I much preferred American Pastoral.  The next book for the class is The Human Stain.

4th of July, by James Patterson

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Cover ImageFinished 9-22-08, rating 3/5, fiction, pub. 2006

This the the 4th installment of the Women’s Murder Club

Lindsay, Claire, and Cindy are back to work another murder case or cases as it happens.  Lindsay finds herself on trial and on administrative leave after a shooting that leaves one teen dead and the teen’s brother paralyzed.  She decides to head out of town to her sister’s empty house for some much needed relaxation.  While there she becomes embroiled in the local murders terrorizing the local beach community.

Claire and Cindy make small appearances, but this is really Lindsay’s story.  Boyfriend Joe is back and her faithful furry companion, Martha, is a welcome addition for this dog lover.  And by the end of the book a new member is admitted to the murder club.

Patterson knows how to build suspense, but the way he does it sometimes feels lazy.  I felt that this book was aimed at those who have ADD and because of it there were a lot more loose ends than in the past books.  It is a page turner and a great quick read and sometimes that is just what I need.  If you liked the first three in this series you will like the change of scenery this one offers.

Play Dirty, by Sandra Brown

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Cover ImageFinished audio 9-5-08, rating 2.5/5, fiction, pub. 2007

Millionaire and wheelchair bound Foster Speakman hires disgraced, fresh out of prison, ex-NFL star, Griff Burkett to ‘make his wife wife pregnant the old fashioned way’.  Laura, the wife, goes along with the plan and meets Griff monthly at a rented house to do the deed.  Laura loves her husband and her job at the Speakman’s airline.  Griff wastes no time in falling in love with Laura.  Griff also has a detective following him around trying to put him back in prison. 

This is the first Sandra Brown book that I have not liked.  None of the three main characters were appealing, even if she tried to make it so by the end, and the weak plot was very predictable.  I was listening to this in the car and in the time it took me to drive from one block to the next Griff and Laura were in love.  I thought I’d missed a cd or something, but no, it happened just as quick as that. 

If this had been the first Sandra Brown book I’d read I would not read another, but since I usually love her books I will put this in the miss column and consider it an anomaly.  Don’t bother with this one, choose another Brown book if you are a fan.

Sweet Caroline, by Rachel Hauck

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Sweet CarolineFinished 9-4-08, rating 4/5, inspirational fiction, pub. 2008

This is the first inspirational fiction book that I’ve read.  I’m not sure what my expectations were, but I’d have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  I guess I thought that inspirational fiction would offer a sanitized view of the world, but instead of that being a bad thing I found it to be a sweet look at the world, even if that sweetness was unbelievable at times.

Caroline is in her late 20’s, single, and floating through life by helping other people with their lives instead of making one of her own.  The owner of the cafe where she works has died and left the cafe to her.  The place is a money pit and Caroline struggles with whether to stay and save the cafe or to take a plum job in Spain.  Her life is further complicated by her dating a reformed ladies man while her first true loves comes back to town.  And it is during this time that she attends church and feels the presence of God in her life.

This is a nice story that feels like the South Carolina low country it is set in.  The writing was good and kept me reading into the night.  There were many storylines woven together with real skill.  The finding God storyline was one that I found moving without being preachy.  That being said, some things were a little too good.  I’ve never had a car dealer make a deal with me and then throw in an extra $1000 because he thinks I’m a good person and I know there are many virgins in their late 20’s, but they and their dates have issues with it that never really came up in this book.  So there were a few things that didn’t ring quite true for me.

I would recommend this book.  I think you’ll really like Caroline and her story.  Essentially, it’s one woman’s quest to make her way in the world on her own terms.  I will gladly read more inspirational fiction, especially when I need to be reassured that the world is not always the cynical place it’s made out to be.

Inside Out Girl, by Tish Cohen

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Cover ImageFinished 8-31-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2008

“Wasn’t that one of the cardinal rules of the road?  If someone needed help and you weren’t prepared to offer any, glance away and feign ignorance.”      Chapter 4

Rachel Berman is head of a Perfect Parentmagazine and single mother of a 12 year old boy and a 14 year old girl.  Len Bean is a widower and father to a ten year old daughter, Olivia, who suffers from NLD, nonverbal learning disorder.  Rachel and Len meet and suddenly their lives and the lives of their children are blending into a family, if not a dysfunctional one.  Olivia is a joke at school and Rachel’s kids, Janie and Dustin, are not  inclined to make her life any easier.  Janie is dealing with her own hormonal and sexual issues that take center stage.

There are a few surprises here and there, but I don’t want to give any away.  This was a very enjoyable book about issues that most families are dealing with.  I loved her writing style and the story moved at a fast pace.  I think you will enjoy getting to know Olivia, as I did, and becoming a little more informed about a disorder that is closely linked to autism (but not the same).  And Janie’s story will bring back the early teen years when whatever someone said about you at school one day had the ability to ruin your whole life.  My only complaint is that some things were a little too convenient.  As readers, we are agreeing to suspend our disbelief, but that only goes so far. 

I received this book for free to review and it exceeded my expectations.  I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good family-oriented story, or someone interested in reading about a child with special needs.  Olivia is a wonderful character and you will fall in love with her.  Tish Cohen’s first book, Town House, is being made into a movie.   www.tishcohen.com

Follow Your Heart, by Susanna Tamaro

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Cover ImageFinished 8-14-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1994

“As you grow up, you’ll often get the urge to change things, to right wrongs, but every time you do, remember that the first revolution, the first and the most important, has to take place within yourself.  Fighting for an idea without having an idea of yourself is one of the most dangerous things you can do.”   -December 22

This is the brutally honest letter a grandmother who is nearing death writes to the granddaughter she raised alone.  Her granddaughter is obviously a headstrong young woman who has moved to America leaving her grandmother in Italy heartbroken and alone. 

The grandmother can feel death coming and wants to leave her granddaughter a letter of history and hope for the future.  She pulls no punches.  She is not afraid to illuminate her own shortcomings as well as those around her, granddaughter included.  It is difficult to read that she did not think about her daughter for several years after her death  or that she did not love her daughter enough without your heart breaking a little.  This is a woman who was not going to spare her granddaughter the truth.

I was pulled in right from the beginning.  It was real and honest and a great story of three generations of women who all seemed to be fighting the past.  It is definitely a worthwhile read.  It was translated from the original Italian.

3rd Degree, by James Patterson

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Cover ImageFinished 8-6-08, rating 3/5, thriller, pub. 2004

“I have this very nice dog.  And my friends.  And this job.  And I’m good at it.  But I have no life.”   -Chapter 111

This is the third installment of the Women’s Murder Club.  The four women… homicide detective Lindsay, assistant DA Jill, medical examiner Claire, and reporter Cindy.

Lindsay witnesses a townhouse being blown to bits and rushes into the burning building and saves a child.  This begins the deadly terror that grips San Francisco at the hands of August Spies.  After the townhouse, a mall is blown up and ricin proves a bad end for a world renowned economist.  At the same time Jill comes clean about the abuse she’s suffered at the hands of her husband and Lindsay feels sparks around Joe, the point man from Homeland Security.  Then a shocking thing happens.  One of the four Murders Club women is murdered.

These books are so fast paced that I was almost done in no time at all, which was exactly what I wanted after Pillars of the Earth.  The problem is that nothing sticks.  The story was fast and kept me turning the pages, but I had no real emotional investment with the characters.  The death, while surprising, did not pack an emotional punch.  And I still think the relationship between the women feels off.  It is written by a man and you can tell.  For the page turner that it was it was good.  If you are looking to delve into the life of another character then you many need something more substantial.

The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett

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Finished 8-3-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1989

This book takes place in 12th century England after King James has died and his crown is seemingly up for grabs.  While that is the backdrop the real story takes place at Kingsbridge, where the good Prior Philip has been appointed amidst some ugly politics.  Tom Builder has is a master builder who has a family to feed, but no job.  Tom ends up at Kingsbridge after losing his wife and child, but gaining a mistress and stepson.  Aliena, the privileged daughter of an earl, is brutally raped after her father wastes away in prison and she must rise above her circumstances to protect herself and her brother.  William is the heartless beast who becomes earl through devious plotting and help from a clever and power hungry bishop.

The quest of the story is the building of a great cathedral at Kingbridge.  All of these players and a few others, Jack and Alfred, are directly involved in getting the cathedral built (or not built).  The hardships and triumphs of these people pack an emotional punch.  The history of the time period is spectacular and the building of the cathedral from its first stone was fascinating.  There is a love story that spans most of the book, but the love for the cathedral overshadows it.

England is in a civil war, there is famine, and poilitical and religious intrigue abound.  I think everyone will learn from this book in an easily accessible way.  I would never pick up a book about building cathedrals or 12th century England, but this book with its many characters and stories made it interesting. 

I did enjoy it, but have some reservations about recommending it.  This is a book about good vs. evil, the good guys vs. the bad guys, but it is always very clear which side a character is on.  A good guy may do something questionable, but it is always explained in a very sympathetic way so that the halo around them is still intact.  While this always gives you someone to root for (and against) it seems too simple for such an epic novel.  When something good happened, you knew it would be countered with something awful and that did become predictable.  There are also some vulgar and graphic scenes that will repulse you.  I can get past them, but I know some can’t.

I enjoyed this book.  I know there is a sequel that takes place at Kingsbridge 200 years later, but I must admit I have no desire to read it.  The good outweighed the bad, but I was more happy to be done than with the so-so ending.  If you like grand sweeping epics or historically accurate fiction this is the book for you.