Early Review: Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

I have had the pleasure of being granted access to an early copy of the upcoming novel by Catherine McKenzie – coming to the public on October 04, 2016. Through NetGalley.com I have requested to pre-read upcoming novels in agreement to write reviews on them and share through my blogs. This was my first read!

A young family moves across the country to escape a stalker and the past. Julia is a bestselling author who chose Cincinnati, Ohio as her families new home, based on the ‘picturesque’ neighborhood. It does not take long for Julia to get on the wrong side of her neighbors – neighbors who are on a short leash by the neighborhoods PSNA (Pine Street Neighborhood Association) Chair and Founder, Cindy Sutton.

McKenzie writes this novel from the perspective of Julia and her new neighbor and running parter, John. An unlikely friendship grows into something more as Julia tries to fit in to the highly structured block parties and book clubs on Pine Street, to write her second novel, be the mother to twins, and a good wife. Julia is a highly relatable character for me as she struggles with anxiety, depression, and being a mother. Julia also struggles weaving in and out of the social construct imposed on her and her family.

John is a father of two in a marriage the seems happy until he meets Julia. Their relationship seems to spark a series of events that make Julia look like a monster not only to her new neighbors, but to Julia as well.

The story is eery and will keep the reader turning the page, rushing through the text to find out what happens with Julia as her stalker appears to have found her despite her ardent precautions. More and more secrets come to the surface as Julia tries to dig herself out of the mess she finds herself in.

A page turner!

 

Review: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Another Pinterest recommendation, found on the same blog where I found my last book, When She Woke by Hilary Jordan (read the review here).

This novel is based on a fairy tale about an old man and woman who desperately want a child and so they make one out of snow which magically comes to life. The couple live in Alaska during the 1920’s – running from ‘Back East’ where Mabel and Jack were constantly reminded of the child that they lost in childbirth and the disappointment on their family members faces that haunts Mabel even in the wilderness.

About the time that Jack and Mabel are looking at possible starvation and what could quite possibly be worse, having to move back, they make a snow child with the first snow of the season. To their wonderment a young girl is spotted running through the trees with a fox, somehow surviving the wilderness on her own – even bringing Jack and Mabel gifts.

Mabel recalls the fairytale that her father told her about a snow child and lives in fear that the fairytale will come true – that the child is not to be theirs, that the child will leave them.

While the reader knows what could possibly happen to Jack and Mabel and what will most likely happen to the snow girl, the story continues to be mesmerizing and keeps the reader’s attention. It is indeed a story that will stay with you!

 

Review: When She Woke by Hilary Jordan

I found this to be recommended on Pinterest as a ‘can’t put down’ book and I found it at the library (which can be very difficult, especially when you have your heart set on a certain book … could explain why I own so many books … ) so I went for it!

I was not entirely sure what this book was about before I checked it out and I’m glad that I didn’t read into it too far as I doubt I would have picked it up. The plot is based on a dystopian society and a young woman raised in a very conservative christian home where she is loved by her parents but also punished often for her questions, hobbies, and even her looks. Hannah follows the lifestyle that her parents have designed and taught her too until she meets a certain pastor.

Hannah finds herself in deep trouble when she is caught after a procedure was performed on her that is considered murder in this society. Her punishment is to be ‘dyed’ red, as all murderers are, and sentenced to 16 years of this very public and visual humiliation. Instead of giving up the names of the doctor who performed the procedure and the father of her now aborted baby, Hannah keeps it to herself and relies on the God of her childhood to protect her.

Hannah finds herself in many situations where her identity is stripped from her,  no privacy, and harsh rules until a rebellious undercover group of ‘terrorists’ rescue her and her friend (another Red she met) from a group of men who go around trying to kill Chromes (what people who are ‘dyed’ are called) which includes her brother-in-law.

Hannah is forced to assess herself, her views, her vision of what her life could and should be without the influence of her parents religion or the man who she loves but can never have.

I enjoyed reading about Hannah’s self-realization, though at times towards the end of the book I felt that the author was trying to quickly wrap up the story. There could have been many different routes that the author took and that I might have taken myself – but I enjoyed this story!

Upcoming Reviews

Here is a list of some of the upcoming reviews that will be hitting my blog over the next few weeks!

1. Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Littenfeld (click here for more info) *Book of the Month Club Add-on
2. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (click here for more info) *Library Find
3. The Passenger by Lisa Lutz (click here for more info) *Library Find
4. Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner (click here for more info) *Book of the Monthy July Pick

Happy Reading to All of You!

Review: The Hypnotists Love Story by Liane Moriarty

Another enjoyable read brought to us by Liane Moriarty and her fictional, quirky, female characters based out of beautiful Australia. Leaving the reader with a fun story in the genre of women’s fiction and a strange craving for tea and biscuits.

Moriarty explores the love life of a certified hypnotherapist, Hannah, who comes to find love at 35 years of age – love with a man who has a stalker. Instead of being repulsed and frightened, our beloved and quirky hypnotist finds it compelling and interesting, and develops a sort of relationship with her boyfriends stalker. As a hypnotherapist the reader can only imagine how much more emotionally mature Hannah is due to her insight into the human psyche that isn’t widely known about or even practiced. At least that is what Hannah would like to believe about herself until she finds herself pregnant, engaged to be married to a man with an eight year old son, and a father that she has never met who is dating her mother.

In typical Moriarty fashion the reader slowly learns more and more about the characters as the pages go by. This novel did not seem to ‘hook’ me as quickly as some of Moriarty’s other works but I was still pleasantly entertained by the writing and the plot twists. Moriarty explores the relationships between women – female friends, the relationship between mother and daughter, between future wife and dead wife, and even the relationship that can exist between a stalker and her target’s future wife.

A fun read!

Review: Brain on Fire – My Month Of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

I’ve been seeing the cover of this book all over Amazon, Pinterest, and Facebook so I gave in and ordered it. The premise is very interesting – an unidentifiable disease which lands a young woman in the hospital for over a month, turning her into someone who she cannot remember and that her parents wish they could forget.

This book tells the story of Susan Cahalan’s journey through a rare and hard to diagnose autoimmune disease through the few memories she has of the experience, hospital video, and the recollection of her parents and her boyfriend Stephen. Cahalan was one of the luckier people of those diagnosed with the described disease but despite her amazing recovery and survival – there are hundreds of women and children who don’t survive through misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment.

Cahalan is a journalist for the New York Post and the book reads very much like an article. At times I found Cahalan as someone who I don’t think I would get along with do to her nature of referring to the horror of strangers considering her to be ‘slow’ instead of ill and her struggle with weight gain, putting her at 160 lbs at the height of her prescribed steroid use. I found Cahalan to be insensitive towards people with actual diagnosed mental illnesses and even those with Autism.

Despite the insensitivity of the author and the lackluster writing – it is a very interesting story and I definitely acknowledge the benefit of sharing her story with the world so that those out there who are misdiagnosed or who aren’t diagnosed at all can find the right treatment and gain back their lives – or as close to their previous lives as possible.

 

Review: End of Watch by Stephen King

I read the most recent novel by Stephen King very quickly, downloading it onto my Kindle as soon as I finished my last book, Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend (review can be viewed here).  Ever since I finished the second book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy, Finders Keepers, most particularly when my heart jumped back into its rightful place in my chest after the last page – I have been salivating for the third and final book.

As usual, I found myself 78% of the way through the book when I struggled to keep reading. Not because the plot had lost me or that I had grown bored, but because I didn’t want it to end, especially since I knew that this was the final book in the series. This book took my two days to read which I think is pretty impressive, especially being that I am the mother to a two and a half-year old. Also, thankful to my husband who spent most of Friday watching our daughter while I curled up in bed and read.

Stephen King brings the readers back to the lifeless ‘gork’ that is Brady Hartsfield, the Mercedes Killer who didn’t quite succumb to Holly Gibney’s ‘happy slapper’ hit right before he tried to blow up thousands of pre-teens and their mother’s at a Round Here concert. While Brady should by all means be brain-dead and incapable of masterminding anyone’s death, the laws of physics don’t always apply to a King novel.

This novel focuses on one of Brady Hartsfield’s most intriguing interests, suicide. More specifically, assisting lonely people to commit suicide. This could be a very difficult book to read from some readers because of the sensitive topic so fair warning. While suicide is one of life’s more devastating truths, it also deserves to be talked about and King does a nice job of this with a note to the reader at the end of the book about how you can obtain help if needed.

I cried at the end. It was hard to say goodbye to the trilogy as I have truly enjoyed it and have been looking forward to each novel. If anyone has suggestions for similar reading experiences – send them my way!

Review: Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend

This book was another pick from the Book of the Month Club for June and I want to pinch myself almost as I don’t usually pick two good books in a row. I’m currently reading End of Watch by Stephen King which has put me up to three ‘can’t put down’ literary excursions.

Enchanted Islands is told from the perspective of an elderly woman, crippled by arthritis and living in a nursing home, telling the tale of her role in World War II. An unexpected role to say the least, the reader soon discovers as well as her journey through life where she started as the child of Polish immigrants in Duluth, Minnesota. Franny gives the reader information that she was sworn to secrecy, by the United States government, to keep. But living in a nursing home and watching her best friend, Rosalie, receive an award for her own work during the war (which included hosting parties) irks her enough the she pens the truth into her novel, Enchanted Islands.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and I found myself quickly wanting to know more about the Galapagos Islands, whether there really were German spies on the Island when Franny lived there, Franny’s ‘husband’, and her life long relationship with her difficult or in other words, high maintenance best friend.

As a reader and as a woman I appreciated and respected Franny’s level of forgiveness that she harbored for her friend, Franny’s deep feelings of loneliness throughout her life, her love of reading and writing, as well as her witty sense of humor.

A quick and enjoyable read – though some parts were hard to believe, it was still fun stuck close to the actual history of World War II.

Review: Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

I’m a sucker for all things by Liane Moriarty, a wonderful Australian author that I wish I would have read sooner. The obsession started with her novel, Big Little Lies, and I have not been disappointed since! Moriarty has a gift of being able to explore the different emotions and feelings that come with big events in women’s lives such as a husbands infidelity, depression, divorce, etc. with a sense of humor.

Three Wishes is about the lives of three sisters who happen to be triplets. The Kettle sisters come off as very dysfunctional in the first few pages of the novel, preparing the reader not only for the antics that will ensue, but also engaging the reader quickly into the story. Moriarty usually tackles the perspectives of multiple characters in her books (which I usually do not enjoy) and it was fun reading about the different perspectives of each Kettle sister. The reader can easily choose a favorite or sees oneself in one of the sisters; Lyn, Cat, or Gemma.

This was Liane’s debut novel and I doubt if anyone did not foresee a bright future for this author. Some review on Goodreads by other readers have chosen this book as their least favorite by the author, but I found it consistent with her more recent works and just as compelling.

A fun read for the summer!

Review: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh is my first book from the Book of the Month Club which I found through Facebook and got a 50% off discount for the first three months. There are five books picked by a variety of judges which includes a variety of writers, critics, and celebrities every month. Members pick a hardcover book based on the judge’s review and if wanted, can add another hard cover book for $9.99.

I Let You Go intrigued me and made me willing to spend an extra ten dollars, most likely because of the hormone coursing through my body due to this baby inside of me. A young mother loses her son in a hit and run accident and an ’emotional rollercoaster’ ensues

It starts slow and you feel that the author is following a classic Lifetime movie plot until you get to Part II. Stay on until Part II – you won’t be disappointed! The review that I read did not prepare me for the many twists and turns that the author writes into her novel near Part II and .. well.. just keep reading.

I read I Let You Go quickly and had a hard time putting it down even though there are time when your stomach will churn and sputter. My interpretation of the ending was very different than the discussion threads that I read on the Book of the Month Club website – so I’m curious what you think?!

Good summer read – easy and compelling!