The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Thank you, NetGalley.
I didn’t finish reading this book. I’m sorry I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t care for the characters. Others seem to love this book. Maybe you will, too.
The Hollywood Daughter by Kate Alcott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Thank you, NetGalley.
This was not one of my favorite books. Yet I couldn’t stop reading it. First of all the writing was well done. Second and more personal, I remember my dad pointing to Ingrid Bergman on the TV and telling me that she was his very favorite actress. I had to agree with him that she was beautiful and I loved how she spoke. I don’t know what the show was. Nor do I remember what she said or wore that impressed me.
I think I may be part of the target audience, Baby Boomer. I may be around the same age as the main character, Jessica Malloy, well, a little younger. I wasn’t born until, what chapter three or four? And I am a Southern California girl so the location references were personal for me.
And I remember an aunt talking to my mother and I like a Dutch uncle about communism. Mom didn’t say much. She usually had plenty to say, so I think this long lecture caught her off-guard.
So it was these personal notes that pulled me in and kept me reading. That and I wrote a teen-meeting-idol book in the sixties about meeting casually the Beatles. So I want to see how it happens to others who have idols in the entertainment industry.
More than that, it was fun watching Jessica grow into a young woman and ridding herself of the demons of growing up.
For me, though, this growing up angst is tiring. Who wants to go back and relive their teens? At least this girl wasn’t gaga about this guy and that. It was more about her family and her self -discovery.
I may have to find an Ingrid Bergman movie or two to complete my experience. Others may love this book. But I stick with my three stars as it is better than some but not as good as others. I may actually forget it soon which is what brings it to a four or five-star rating. Try it. Let me know how you feel about it. Maybe I missed something? I do read using text-to-speech.
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Do I say “Research?” It is due to the fact that I am writing a fictional ‘zombie’ book for NaNoWriMo that I picked up the Kindle and Audible versions of this book. My zombies are merely sick people. I am not a medical person so I needed some input on how it all starts and how contagious it all is. As it turns out it isn’t as bad as Ebola, but the gore of my book might evolve due to this book.
Meanwhile, this is a book I put off for decades. I remember a guy named Jason at the school I worked at that came up to me with the paperback. He was so excited about it. But the more he talked the squirmier I got. “And it’s a true story!” He exclaimed. I started watching shows like Outbreak. We saw it in the theater. Remember that sneeze? I nearly ran out of there when someone coughed.
I grew–good or bad, I guess that’s for others to judge. But lately, I can watch a disaster movie, or The Walking Dead and notice only the social reaction to the monsters or the disease or the overwhelming snow. So I thought I could now face this book.
Reading happens at bedtime. Bet you can guess how this book blended into dreams. And since I listened as I read the Kindle with the Audible, that voice! Richard M. Davidson’s voice. What a deep bass and excellent for the genre! Creepy and authoritative! Wow!
What I learned is that my characters in my book were dressed properly to deal with their strains of disease. And I learned I never want to be anywhere near someone coughing! If I was a germaphobe before… well, let’s just say there isn’t enough hand sanitizer in the world for me!
Knowing this is nonfiction made this even more frightening. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago there was an Ebola scare. What a horrid disease! And this author did a poetic job of helping the reader to see it and feel it. If you haven’t read it yet, climb out of your hiding place and give it a try. Forewarned is forearmed as they say. Might as well get the Audible version to make it even more real. I will try to read more of his books now. Time for more vitamin C and Airborne!
The Hope Chest: A Novel by Viola Shipman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was personal for me. I recently lost a dear cousin to ALS. It was through her mother that I got my antique hope chest. It was one of those dome-lidded train trunks. My grandfather and brother lined that hope chest with cedar and the lid with velvet. With all that family involved in this chest, how could I not fall into the thought processes of the day? Girls grow up and have families. They get married. Become someone else’s. That’s not all bad. (I’ve grown to accept that a hope chest could just be hope of growing up and having a place of your own, not put the hope into another person.) But I had a wonderful family full of aunts and uncles and double the grandparents. No matter how life at school or home was, there were other relatives of love I could rely on.
My hope chest aunt taught me to knit. All the cousins, girl cousins, learned to knit slippers. My other aunt taught me to crochet and sew. Mom didn’t have the patience for all that but having a fantastic extended family gave me hope and taught me what I think everyone should know. That you can love past differences. The uncle attached to that aunt, taught me how to tie my shoes. That uncle and the uncle attached to my crochet aunt, taught me that even if you disagree so much with ideas the rest of the family hold, everyone will still love you. Just disagree with you.
My brother, who helped my grandfather fix up that chest, was killed in a car accident. That grandfather died of Parkinson’s. Even that chest disappeared in the many moves of my life. But the love of that family is still there. My cousins and I see each other on FaceBook daily. It is the only reason I haven’t left social media. It is my new hope chest. It’s in my heart. And so is the cousin who isn’t with us anymore, at least not where we can see her.
This book brought all that up for me. Sure, in ways it is a little hokey. But it wasn’t a stupid romance novel. It was about people who love or learn to love and help each other. The writer wrote characters I could believe. The mom was a little too strict with the little girl, seemed she wouldn’t let her be a little girl. But there are people like that. The woman with ALS seemed a little too perfect, though in pain and having the disease. The husband was every woman’s dream husband, so maybe not so real. Even still, when a book can reach into your heart like this one did and you see and smell the garden and the lake and feel the love, that’s a good book. Bring your Kleenex.
Thank you, NetGalley for letting me read this gem!
Wretched Wicked by S.M. Reine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. I always love me a Sara Reine story. This is the first I was able to finish in one night.
Sadly, it wasn’t about my favorite characters. I know a lot of the reviewer LOVE Cesar Hawke and his boss, Fritz Friederling, they are not the highest on my list. Still, it was a good story and a fast review of Fritz’s life. He hasn’t had top billing in any of these stories. So for those who need a review, or those who want to start somewhere other than Six Moon Summer, hundreds of books ago for SM Reine (or so it seems–she is so prolific!) Wretched Wicked would be a good start.
I did enjoy seeing life from Fritz’s point of view. I think I understand him a lot better. Can’t wait for more from Ms. Reine. Glad I don’t really live in her universe, but happy to meet all who do!
Undead Drive-Thru by Rebecca Besser
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was on one of those Free Kindle Book offers and since it was in the genre I’m writing about, I thought I’d give it a try.
The story was short and darkish humor. It could have been a story that occurred at the start of The Walking Dead. I could almost see it in comic book form. I finished reading it in one night. It draws on the same psychic bent that poor Maggie’s dad, Hershel, had on the show, that the zombie is just a sick version of the loved one.
It was a fun short read. You might like it.
The Regrets of Cyrus Dodd by Bette Lee Crosby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Sorry, I’m so late in reviewing. I read it quite a while ago. Still, I remember it with fondness.
This is the fourth of this series and I never got book three. I hate reading things out of order. But the book sat on my Kindle shelf so long I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. This was one of the best character development stories I’ve read in a long time.
Bette Lee Crosby can write so well, you feel you are there, smelling, tasting, feeling everything the characters do. Their mental confusions can make you wonder about your own thoughts. The sadness the characters feel draw the Kleenex near. But when things work out you nearly are jumping up and down.
Please give this gem a try. It easily could stand alone. The other books in the series only give you a bit of a back knowledge, not really needed to care about what is happening and to whom. Loved it! I can’t wait to read more of Ms. Crosby’s work!
Race of Thieves by S.M. Reine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not every were is a wolf. In this case, a squirrel who’s pretty feisty and smart is the person Shatter Cage. Sometimes he is not as smart as he thinks he is. Then he finds himself in some pickles. But sometimes that squirrely brain helps him escape.
Okay, it sounds kind of silly. But Sara Reine’s characters are serious beings on the post-apocalyptic side. All her books suck you in and won’t let go until the last page. For those of us lucky enough to get to read for honest reviews it is the very best of worlds! I love all her series-es. Usually, I tell folks to start reading at the Six Summer Moon series and enjoy the ride. But somehow Ms. Reine has been able to write a new series that includes a lot of our old favorites without a newbie feeling lost. There is just enough background to feel informed without overwhelming the reader. So if you are new–start here.
If you follow my reviews you will know that my main objective is female authors writing strong female main characters. I know most people don’t have that aim in their reading/entertainment lives. That’s why I’m giving a four-star where most are giving a five-star review. I haven’t been the biggest of fans of Sara’s male main characters. But Dana is in this book. She’s one of my favorite characters so if I could this would be a four and a half star review.
Thanks for letting me read this. I can’t wait for the next one!
The Secret of Big A by Ofra Peled
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
When I read children’s books I do it with my own children in mind. Now granted, they were kids 40 years ago, so things might be different now. But with that in mind as I read this I found myself a little bored. I know. That is a surprise as this stars reading and beaches. That should have won me over, but I couldn’t see my kids liking it or wanting to read it over and over. There seems to be a lot of positive feedback on this book so it’s just me, I guess. I hope everyone else loves it.
Acorna’s Quest by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It has been a couple months since I finished reading this book. I must admit to not remembering much about it at all. I’m currently reading the next book in the series and so I’m confusing the storylines.
As much as I loved Anne McCaffrey’s dragon books, the Unicorn Girl series is less about the Unicorn Girl than it is about people who want to use or abuse said star of the books. As much as I love space travel books, this was more about bad guys and good guys who happen to know the girl while in space or on other planets. So sad.
I was fortunate enough about a decade ago to buy first editions of the hardbacks of a lot of McCaffrey books. But now that I have the time, my eyes have a hard time with printed tomes. I bought this Kindle version to aid in my reading. I wish there had been an Audible version as it might have helped.
Just to encourage those stuck in this book, the next in the series does give you a bit more time with the Unicorn people. I hope I haven’t discouraged readers of this series. Keep on and find the good parts and hang on. We need fantasy/sci-fi to escape the noise of our every day lives stuck on Earth.
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 100 books for the 2013 Reading Challenge! 115 of 100 (115%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 225 books for the 2012 Reading Challenge! 225 of 225 (100%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 200 books for the 2011 Reading Challenge! 204 of 200 (102%)
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