Book Review: Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight #bookreview #reconstructingamelia

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

4/5 stars

kimberlymccreight.com

This book was a mystery, thriller, horrifying/intriguing-for-mothers read. Kate is a single mom of Amelia, an excellent student at a Park Slope area private high school. But early into the book, Amelia is found dead at her school, an apparent “impulsive suicide.”

This would all make perfect sense if Amelia had shown any signs of suicidal behavior, but she didn’t. That fact, along with the anonymous texts Kate receives after Amelia’s death lead her to believe that Amelia didn’t kill herself but rather was murdered. Using all of her extensive resources (Kate is a high-powered attorney), Kate attempts to unravel the mystery behind the daughter she thought she knew so well.

Reconstructing Amelia is composed of prose, emails, texts and blogs. There’s the usual cast of mean girls, tough cops, and Stepford wives. As a mom, it was a challenging read. Amelia is Kate’s only child, and as a single working woman, it seems like Kate is no longer a mother without her beloved daughter.

It’s definitely in the realm of murder mystery. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who was behind the anonymous emails, who was “in charge” of the secret group to which Amelia secretly belonged, why certain characters behaved the way they did — even who was really Amelia’s birth dad.

Although it’s not my usual genre, I recommend it. However, if you’re looking for a better psychological mystery, I recommend Before I Go to Sleep and Defending Jacob.

Book Review: How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff #bookreview #howilivenow #megrosoff

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff 4 stars

Say there’s an anorexic American teenager who goes to visit her aunt in England and falls in love with her cousin who happens to have a form of ESP — just as world war breaks out.

You might think, what a weird premise for a book. But that’s How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff.

Daisy, who has been cast off by her father and stepmother, goes to England to meet her aunt. Daisy’s mother died at her birth, and she’s never met her British relatives. But her aunt travels often for work, leaving Daisy with her cousins and their strange customs and pets. She’s both intrigued and somewhat repulsed, having grown up in NYC and not in the countryside. But gradually she gets to know the empathetic, loving family, and just as she finds her place with them, war changes everything.

The dialect is pure self-absorbed teenager, even as Daisy faces starvation (not self-imposed) and separation during the war. That’s what makes the book amusing even as it Tackles Serious Issues (as Daisy would say/write). Yet Meg Rosoff also embraces a huge degree of anonymity. We know they’re in England and we know there’s a war. That’s ALL we know — although that may be a plot device (see: teenagers, self-absorbed). We don’t know the year or the time frame — there’s vague reference to internet and email so it must be current/future — and we don’t know much about Daisy’s family except what’s happening in the now. It works, as a device.

There’s enough detail and yet enough left to imagine that the pacing is fantastic — until the end, which felt incredibly rushed. Thank goodness this book isn’t 1 of 2, or a trilogy, because I’d hate to see it stretched out beyond the story. But the ending is abrupt and doesn’t do much for the storyline.

Highly recommend on basis of creativity and storyline (and editing) alone.

Also, it’s going to be released as a movie in the fall!

I look forward to seeing it.

Cover Reveal: Facade by Nyrae Dawn @nyraedawn #facade #games

Heres a sneak peek at the cover and blurb for FACADE (book 2 in the Games series) by Nyrae Dawn. I really enjoyed book 1, Charade, and I look forward to reading this in March!

No one knows who twenty-one year-old Adrian Westfall is behind his façade. After what he’s done, he deserves to live alone with his pain, even if he’d do anything to forget. Anything for a moment of quiet without his past haunting him.

Eighteen year-old Delaney Cross wants nothing more than to absolve her family from her father’s sins. To keep her suicidal mom off that ledge, and help her brother Maddox get the light back in his eyes. She thinks their road to freedom is through Adrian.

Adrian and Delaney are bound together by tragedy… Only Adrian doesn’t know it.

As their lives intertwine, they find a solace in each other they never knew existed. Laney knows she needs to tell him—to come out from behind her smoke screen, but to say the words could mean losing him.

Two people. Two disguises. True love.

Will it be enough to save them when all secrets are bared?

FACADE is a New Adult book and intended for mature audiences.

Put FACADE on your Goodreads to-read list!

Book Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

4 Stars/5

Sky is a girl who has been homeschooled by her Luddite (adopted) mother for her whole life; she begs to go to school for her senior year. Her mother reluctantly agrees, and thus Sky enters the world of mostly obnoxious teenagers. Unfortunately she has a bit of an undeserved reputation, but she doesn’t really care about that. She meets Dean Holder, another recipient of an undeserved reputation, who is sexy, funny, mysterious and sometimes incredibly angry. She’s intrigued (and attracted) but she doesn’t understand why he runs so hot and cold with her. He does, though, and it’s a secret that he keeps from her until she discovers the truth…

And I’m not going to tell you what it is.

I actually had to think on this one for about 48 hours before I could review it. I had to think about what I loved (most of it), hated (the subject matter) and felt indifferent to (which I can’t address without spoiling it).

The biggest problem was more with ME than with the book: I inhaled this book, and because of the TRICKY subject matter, it’s meant to be enjoyed more slowly and thoroughly. I need to go back and re-read so that I can give it proper credit.

 

My main criticism of the book itself is the sub-characters (if that’s a word). Holder, Sky and her mom were well-fleshed out. Sky’s best friend, her new school friend, and Sky’s mom’s boyfriend were much less so. Other relatives, practically nothing. Those outlying characters were more what they DO/DID/ACTED than who they were. I think the author attacked the subject matter so carefully, and she did such a marvelous job making it believable and real and heartfelt, that some of those lesser characters took a backseat to that. So it felt okay, overall, but I can’t help comparing it to The Sea of Tranquility, which managed to cover a lot of secrets and trauma and characters (and was a lot longer) with a bit more depth. This book was more straightforward. Sky was easier to relate to. She was intelligent and funny and… teenager-ish. She was very real.

Highly recommend.

Plus, the author, Colleen Hoover, is just wonderful and loves her fans and interacts with them regularly on Facebook and Twitter.

Book Review: Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines

4 stars

Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines $3.99 on Kindle.

Hooray! We’ve left the sweet malleable Seabreeze girls behind in favor of a shotgun-totin’ badass chick heroine. Thank you for that, Abbi Glines. I appreciate a strong female who knows what she wants and goes for it.

And what Blaire wants is her hot, mysterious, sexy stepbrother, Rush. (Before you say eww, I have one word for you: Clueless.)

Also, she wants independence, although that’s a given, since she has no family other than her dad, who left her mother five years ago. Now that her mother died of cancer, she reluctantly makes her way to Florida to see him. Meanwhile, dad is on vacation with his new wife, Rush’s mom, but Rush grudgingly accepts her presence.

So Blaire gets a job at the local country club, where everyone is nice — except Nan, Rush’s sister. What is Nan’s deal? Blaire grows closer to Rush, despite his misgivings that can be summed up in the following phrase: “just can’t stay away you’re just so sweet I can’t help it I’m actually a sensitive tortured soul under my tattoos and random fuck buddies.”

It’s an alpha male schtick. But damn, nobody writes an alpha male like Abbi Glibes!

I actually loved the story and give that aspect five stars, but the editing gets three. Here’s why:

1. It was poorly Kindle-formatted, at least on my iPhone. I have no idea why or how, but it was a challenge to read.

2. Some comma issues, issues with possession and a few misspelled words.

3. The conversations between characters don’t use enough contractions. It reads clunky. I don’t think I’m that loose with conversation, but after reading every one of the Seabreeze books, I wondered if I don’t slur all my sentences. I do not. (See what I did there?)

That said, I’ve read all of Abbi Glines’ books and I think this is her best yet. It’s got the right amount of New Adult Romance formula so you know it’s going to have a hot Alpha, but the plot was surprising enough to keep me reading, not just for the sex scenes!

I look forward to the next book in the series. I know that all of the fans are saying that– but I hope the author takes her time and edits it thoughtfully.

Book Review: Gabriel’s Inferno

3 Stars.

Take 50 Shades of Grey, mix it with some original Twilight, literary highbrow and a huge amount of sexism, and you’ve got Gabriel’s Inferno.

I can only recommend it under the following conditions:

1. You’re a sucker for an ALPHA male.

Because Gabriel is the ALPHA-est of Alpha males. He’s disgustingly rich, overly-educated, strong and powerful, as well as tattooed. Also, he takes erotic photography, drinks like a carp, is an esteemed professor and of course he’s got a body like a god. You’ve got your typical Alpha here.

2. Likewise, you like your heroines quiet, shy, guileless virgins who lets the man lead her.

How else can I say this? Picture Bella Swan. Now picture her six years later. That’s Julianne/Julia/Kitten/Rabbit/Beatrice whatever name some male character gives her.

3. You can wait over 500 pages for sex.

Of course, there’s petting and stuff, but… yeah. After a while, it really drags.

4. You don’t mind pesky things like details.

He’s her professor! Yet nobody finds out about their “courting.” Paul (who plays the Jacob role in this one) simply accepts that Julianne/Julia/Rabbit simply has a boyfriend and gives up. While the Dante discourse is somewhat interesting, any discussion of Julianne’s/Julia’s/Rabbit’s/Kitten’s/Beatrice’s study is relegated to a few sentences about how she’s found a new thesis advisor.

It gets 3 stars because in a looooooooooong book, I only found one extraneous comma, and while the waiting for sex part dragged, it was still somewhat erotic. But mostly I rolled my eyes and found Gabriel really sexist and annoying.

Book Review: The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski.

5/5 stars

Camryn is still mourning her boyfriend’s death — and the subsequent unraveling of her life — when she decides to take road trip. With no particular destination in mind, she gets on a Greyhound bus (ew). A few stops in, she meets Andrew, who is traveling to visit his dying father. Camryn is initially wary of him, but when he protects her from a fellow bus-traveling pervert, she decides to trust him, and after visiting his dad they go on their own road trip in his Chevelle (apparently that’s some sort of car).

Andrew’s spontaneity and happy-go- lucky demeanor are in direct contrast to Camryn, who is very guarded (as you probably should be when you meet someone on a Greyhound). Eventually he challenges her to let loose a little, and to her credit, Camryn embraces it.

(credit: nookbook.me)

I really enjoyed this novel. The beginning was slow moving, but once Camryn met Andrew, the pace moved along nicely. Though it may sound cheesy, Andrew’s zest for life was infectious. Camryn was reasonably cautious, but she couldn’t resist him for too long (who could?)

The author has written other books, and it shows. I don’t know how to explain it but to say that it was lot more cleanly written than many self-published or independent books I’ve read. And I’ve been reading a lot of those lately!

This book really won me over with its creative story, unusual characters and unique situations. It could have been really depressing but it wasn’t. Both Camryn and Andrew could have been one-not characters (depressed! Happy!) but they were written with a deft hand. While the language was simple, nothing flowery or over-wrought, the point came across well.

I dipped my toe into erotica

(Not in a toe-fetish way. Because, EW.)

I read an erotic book. I really liked it. I’ve been talking about it on my personal Facebook NONSTOP since I finished it. And very few of my friends will read it. Why? Why?? Why???

It’s called Captive in the Dark and just because the plot revolves around sex slavery, kidnapping, prostitution and DUBIOUS consent–

Nice-Nice said, “It sounds a rapey. I’ll pass.”

Prom Queen said: “It sounds horrible!”

Miss Manners said: “Barf.”

Mary F. Poppins said: “Are you sure I’LL like it?” (What does she think the F. stands for, anyway?)

Here is my 5-star review from Amazon:

IF you can get past the very violent, sadistic, graphic and extreme sex, I’d highly recommend this book. I realize many people will be completely turned off. Personally, I just kept an open mind. I’m aware there are lots of strange sexual proclivities in the world, and this is FICTION.

Most of my friends refuse to read it. Their loss!

All that said: this book is really intense, creative, unique and hot. The author really shot for the moon with her characters and plot — and she got there. The story is gripping. Even though the plot was completely foreign to me, I could follow it. Even though most of the characters are reprehensible, they’re also strangely relatable. All human beings understand the feelings of loss, captivity, lust, love, hate, shame — even if they don’t experience these things in such a physical way as the characters.

There were some comma issues, which I described in the review, but they didn’t detract much from the story. It was like watching a porn with a plot (not that I’ve ever seen a porn WITH A PLOT). Hard to look away.

I’ve clearly gone straight into freak mode. If there are more books like this out there, I’m okay with it!

Library book Trauma

These are my boys, Animal and Mineral, at homeschool 4-H. They’re learning robotics, and they made trebuchets.

They do not usually dress alike.

Here is a book I took out from the library, because I’m trying to tamper down my Kindle addiction

(credit: Goodreads)

This is me. I asked the boys to take a bag full of overdue library books out to my car. My car was parked on the street

This is where the book ended up. It is not my car.

It is a drainage ditch

This is the weather this week

RAIN.

The Seabreeze Series by Abbi Glines: Marry, Screw, Kill

Quick summaries:

Breathe
Teenage girl with very irresponsible mother works as a domestic in a rockstar’s summer home in Seabreeze, Alabama. (I suppose it’s somewhat believable that a rockstar would want a summer home in the middle of nowhere, right? The paparazzi wouldn’t know where to find him.) Love ensues.

Because of Low
Side character from Breathe — guy who was interested in domestic girl but she MISTAKENLY chose the rockstar over him — gets his own story. Moves in with a player while his parents are divorcing. Meets player’s BFF, who happens to be a hot girl. Love ensues.

While It Lasts
Player from Because of Low gets his own story. After a DUI, he gets sent to work at a ranch where there’s a hot, grieving (because her fiancé died in Baghdad) farmer’s daughter. Love (and sex! Hot sex!) ensue.

Further discussion via the “Marry, Screw, Kill” game based on this series —

Why you should MARRY Breathe
It’s sweet, romantic, charming, rich and a fantastical story.

Why you should SCREW Breathe
You shouldn’t. She’s only in high school, for heaven’s sake! Perv!

Why you should KILL Breathe
Because the characters are aliens from the planet of never-using-a-contraction when they think, speak or act. Obviously these intruders need to be removed from society so we can all continue to speak in LOLCAT form.

Why you should MARRY Because of Low
Because there’s a rich father slash husband slash adulterous boyfriend who owns a Mercedes dealership and will probably get you a great car and you can move from Seabreeze, AL, to the booming metropolis of Mobile, AL.

Why you should SCREW Because of Low
You shouldn’t. You could end up related to your girlfriend’s niece and that would be quite awkward at family dinners.

Why you should KILL Because of Low
Because it is the single worst-edited book in the history of the world (yes, I’m including 50 Shades in this list, and the Ben-Hur-esque nightmare that is Love, Unscripted). This was clearly author Abbi Glines nod toward experimental novel writing where “experimental” means “not using any commas; punctuating badly; and changing tenses constantly.”

Why you should MARRY While It Lasts
You shouldn’t. It’s either a player with a very wild sexual history, an innocent farmer’s daughter whose daddy knows how to use a gun, or another casualty in the “war on terror.”

Why you should SCREW While It Lasts
Because. It’s. Hot.

Why you should KILL While It Lasts
You shouldn’t. Hasn’t there been enough grief already in this novel? Eva’s mom AND her fiancé are dead. Cage has no family.

Final decision

MARRY: Breathe
SCREW: While It Lasts***
KILL: Because of Low

*** While It Lasts has replaced Easy by Tammara Webber, as my favorite “mature” YA fiction.