In the Garden of Stone, by Susan Tekulve

When Emma was 16, a train car of coal was dumped onto her family's home.  A local man helps dig her out, and clean her up.  The two eventually marry, and have a son.  Several generations of this family endure hardship and poverty, throughout the Great Depression, World War II, and years of great change for the country.

I was really torn about this book.  On the one hand, the writing is really beautiful.  The book contains dozens of the snapshot type scenes that are so lovingly described.  The very words on the pages are touching, and delicate.  The characters are all living in poverty and hardship, and their situations are described with such beauty that it is truly moving.

On the other hand, I felt very little connection to the characters or the story.  Because we are talking about multiple generations over a span of more than 40 years, I felt like the story was disjointed.  Several years pass between chapters, and I am the kind of reader that wants to have those gaps filled in.  It felt like watching a serialized show and missing several episodes.  I feel like I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it had focused on less characters over a more specific period of time.  As it was written, I just had a lot of difficulty connecting to anything more than the lyrical nature of the words themselves.

Fans of multigenerational stories will enjoy this book, as will fans of southern or Appalachian literature.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

 

The Cottage at Glass Beach, by Heather Barbieri

Nora's life is in crisis.  Her high profile politician husband has been cheating on her, and the scandal has rocked Nora's world.  She flees the public life in Boston, to the small island where she grew up.  Here she confronts the ghosts of her past, including the mysterious disappearance of her mother Maeve when Nora was just a child.

I absolutely loved this book, for a lot of different reasons.  First of, the writing and storytelling are so vivid, there were times when I thought I actually was at the beach.  Honestly, for anyone who has ever really connected with the ocean, this book will put you right back in that moment.  The writing is delicious, really it is, with such intimate descriptions of the scenes.  The author does an excellent job of setting the scene and creating the story world of Burke's Island.  I wanted to be there, on the beach.

I also really liked the plot.  A common complaint among other reviewers of the book is that the story lacked a satisfactory conclusion.  However, I see this as a strength of the book.  Divorce and loss of all kinds usually does lack a satisfactory conclusion, so for me, this made the book all the more believable.  I feel like Nora's story is still developing, she is still growing, so how could we possibly expect to know where she ends up?  She is still getting there.  I also like the mythological quality to the story, drawing on a lot of celtic lore.  The lack of certainty makes it feel all the more magical and mythological.  

I feel like this book is a perfect summer read.  I can imagine many a reader sitting on their own patch of beach following Nora's journey.  And for those of us who cannot make it to the beach this summer, this book is the next best thing.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

  

Doctor Who: Dreams of Empire, by Justin Richards

The second incarnation of the Doctor, along with his companions Victoria and Jamie, have traveled to an asteroid, which functions as a prison for the Haddron Empire.  While learning about the political environment and the reason the prison exists, the Doctor discovers a murderer is skulking around the prison, trying to gain access to the high profile prisoner.

This book was a whole new experience for me.  I have, historically, never been a fan of science fiction, aliens, all that jazz.  However, I recently fell in love with the modernized Doctor Who series, which has made me rethink the sci-fi genre.  I decided to give this book a shot.  It involves the "second" Doctor, from the original show.  His appearance was during the 1960's, and, having not watched the original series, I was totally unfamiliar with this Doctor, his appearance, his personality, his quirks, and his companions.  Yet, as soon as I jumped into this book, I realized, at his heart, the Doctor is the Doctor, regardless of his incarnation.

The book has a lot of political overtones, and very focused on strategy (with the recurring chess theme).  The action is fast paced, the dialog well written, and very imaginative.  While this story may seem different from the "original" feel of the series, with the modern continuation of the series, I felt like this story felt true to the heart of the show.  I could easily imagine the 9th, 10th, or 11th Doctors playing out this story, so to me, that means it fits well within the mythology of the show.  I think fans of the show should give this book a real chance.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

   

Blood Money, by Erika Mitchell

For years now, Azzam has been spying on his boss for the CIA.  Azzam works for a company that, on the surface, appears to just be an international conglomerate, but in reality, the company is redirecting funds to terrorist operations around the world.  Azzam hates the fact that the company is responsible for the loss of innocent life, so he becomes an informant.  When his boss begins to suspect there is a traitor in the company, Azzam flees London for America, inadvertently putting innocent lives at risk himself.

Typically, books involving espionage and terrorism are just not my thing, but this book really captured me from the start.  I think these types of books hit a little close to home, and make readers think about all the hidden terrorist cells around the world; it is a little scary.  But this book is well written.  I particularly enjoyed the character of Azzam.  I liked that the "good guy" is a Muslim born in Iraq.  It makes the reader really think about how there are good people as well as bad people in all religions and ethnicities.  I also like the complexity shown in the character of Shah (one of the "bad guys").  

The only thing that was slightly niggling to me was the dialogue surrounding the police intervention; it seemed a little naive to me.  At one point the cops even refer to the terrorists as "the bad guys".  I cannot imagine a cop in a large city like Seattle would use that terminology.  But that is a minor detail, overall I really enjoyed the book.  The story was fast paced, and kept me engaged from the start.  Fans of action, spy novels, and thrillers will enjoy this book.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

 

I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag, by Jennifer Gilbert

Jennifer had her whole life ahead of her, and she was determined to take New York by storm.  When she is the victim of a vicious attack, her life is altered forever.  She finds a way to move forward, but never really deals with the full impact of the attack.  As time goes on, she becomes a successful businesswoman, and slowly begins allowing herself to heal, and accept love into her life.

Wow.  This book is incredible.  I cannot believe how raw, honest, and brave this author is through this entire book.  There are parts of this book that are really difficult to read, and uncomfortable, but I think this book is so important.  I think this book is inspiring, and empowering to victims of all kinds of traumatic events.

I have seen several reviews that are critical of the book, simply because the author has gone on to live a successful life.  It makes me sad to see that people want to see victims continue to be caught in a cycle of violence and victimization.  I, instead, praise this woman for working hard, being successful, and seeking happiness.  I think that the book does a great job of showing the lasting impact of violent crimes on the victims.  It discusses her fear, how the trauma impacted her at even a sensory level, the effect of the trial, and the lasting impact of the crime, even years later.

Regardless of the author's high level of success and wealth, the fact of the matter is she suffered through a horrible ordeal.  It took real courage to share her story.  Fans of memoirs will appreciate this book.  I, for one, could not put it down.

I received a review copy of this book courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

 

The Time of My Life, by Cecelia Ahern

Lucy is a bit of a mess.  She is hung up on her ex, driving a hunk of junk, living in a flat the size of a postage stamp, and in a mediocre job.  And she constantly lies to everyone, about everything.  So, when Lucy receives an invitation from the personification of her life, of course she tries to weasel out of it.  But, Lucy's Life must be dealt with, as she soon finds out.

This book was just a little too much for me.  The concept, that one's life is personified and perpetually audited or manipulated by that person was just a little too cutesy for me.  The writing style in the book (at nearly 500 pages) was a little too wordy for me.  Lucy as a character was a little too wacky for me.  The substories going on were a little too many for me.  In short, this book, for me, was just too much of nothing.

I did not like Lucy as a character; it is hard for me to like anyone who lies so much.  And though the story was set up for her to redeem herself, I never did find her redeemable.  For me, the thing that saved the book was the character of Lucy's Life.  While I disliked the concept of the personification of a life, the actual character is warm, and charming, and perhaps the most likable thing about the book.  All I could think, as I read it, was that if this book were ever made into a movie, I think David Tennant (of Doctor Who fame) would be the perfect selection for Lucy's Life.  He was who I pictured the entire time I read the book.  And that is what made finishing the book bearable.  And just a note, I would totally watch a movie version of this, particularly if David Tennant did play Lucy's Life.  I can see this being a very cute movie.

Fans of very light chick lit will probably like this book much more than I did.  I can see how it would be a light, funny read, but it just did not connect with me.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

 

We'll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down, by Rachael Hanel

Growing up the daughter of a gravedigger, Rachael was surrounded by death.  She literally grew up in cemeteries  to her, it was normal to ride her bike among the graves, help remove old flowers, and see the people's lives memorialized in granite.  As she gets older, she starts to become curious about the stories of the people in those graves, trying to process the impact their deaths have caused.  When her own father dies, Rachael is shocked at how unprepared she was to deal with death on a personal level.

I was instantly drawn to this book.  As a child, I too spent a lot of time playing in our local cemetery.  My grandmother had a lot of family members buried there, and it was the original site of our parish's church, so we often spent time in the cemetery talking about the history of our family and town.  As a result, death was not ever anything that scared me, cemeteries were never creepy.  To this day, I am fascinated by the history and tales contained in graveyards.

Much like Rachael, that early exposure did nothing to prepare me for the impact of the death of people I know and loved.  In fact, it is now, as an adult, that I find myself frightened by death.  Because of this, I was really able to connect, on  a deep level, to Rachael.  When she recounted her father's death, my heart broke for her.  And I must admit, I was quite surprised at the impact it had on her family; clearly he was the linchpin holding them all together.

The writing in this book is incredibly honest.  Some readers might find it a bit maudlin, but I just found it to be genuine.  Rachael had a unique experience growing up the daughter of a gravedigger, so it only seemed to make sense, to me, that her story be equally unique.  Fans of memoirs will certainly be interested in this book, as would anyone involved or connected to the mortuary business.  And it certainly will hit home with anyone who ever rode a bike or flew a kite or had a picnic in a cemetery.

I received a review copy courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.